The Beauty of an Amber Necklace

Amber has been used for thousands of years as for its medicinal properties (mainly to alleviate stomach aches and rheumatic pains and to make jewellery). Amber is fossilised tree resin and is warm to the touch and it is supposed to have anti-inflammatory properties, although it is no longer used in medicine many people still use it to help with baby teething problems, you will find many amber teething necklaces on the market for that purpose. Amber can be found in many parts of the world although for many years the most important area was around the Baltic sea, what is now Russia and also called the Amber Coast. Baltic amber is between 40 and 60 million years old and unlike other types of amber it is quite opaque and very malleable (which means that all sorts of objects can be made with it).

Another major source of amber is the area around the Dominican Republic which was discovered only a few decades ago. Dominican amber is much clearer then Baltic amber and often contains insects that were trapped in the resin millions of years ago. There are types of Dominican amber that becomes quite blue under the natural light. Dominican amber can be quite expensive as it is not on the surface like Baltic amber and has to be mined using very low methods. Amber is also found in parts of Germany and Poland in large quantities although not everyone would agree in including this type of amber in the 'Baltic' type. There is also something called black or green amber which is mainly found in Turkey, it is fossilised resin with lignite and technically it is not proper amber although it is a nice material for your jewellery.

Amber necklaces and pendants come in many different styles that if you are thinking of buying one as a present you must first decide which style is best. Some style will suit perfectly a middle aged woman and not look ok and not be liked by an eighteen year old. Amber in itself is not terribly expensive but the price of the piece will depend on the materials used and the amount of craftsmanship. Luckily amber looks very good with silver which is, as we know a lot cheaper than gold. Therefore if you buy a silver amber necklace it looks like you have good taste rather that you tried to save money!

You still have to be careful not to end up buying fake amber jewellery, pendants with insects or flowers inside are quite likely to be fake if too cheap. Some amber might actually be real but soft and immature amber. You should always use a reputable jeweller online or in your local area. If in doubt place your piece of amber in a glass of water with two tablespoons of salt in it, if it is real it will float to the top.