Baltic Amber

Baltic Amber is a type of organic fossil, meaning it's made from once-living material (tree resin) rather than minerals like most crystals and gemstones. Over 44–50 million years, this sticky resin from ancient trees hardened and fossilized, preserving its form.

The resin came from an extinct species of tree, likely related to modern pine or coniferous trees, growing in the massive subtropical Baltic forests during the Eocene period. These forests stretched across much of what is now Northern Europe. When the trees were damaged, they secreted resin as a defence just like trees do today.

Amber has actually become a time capsule, giving a great insight into the kind of conditions that were around millions of years ago due to small organisms or plant matter that were trapped in the resin and perfectly preserved. These include insects, spiders, plant fragments including flowers, lizards and even more recently a DINOSAUR tail covered in feathers!

The Amber we sell in store is Baltic Amber, as described above, there are however other types of Amber, each varying by geological age, location & colour.

The most well-known of course, is Baltic amber. This comes from the regions surrounding the Baltic Sea, including Lithuania, Latvia, Poland & Russia. This Amber is around 44–50 million years old, making it one of the oldest. It's rich in succinic acid, a compound believed to have physical healing effects, especially for inflammation and pain which is why baby teething bracelets are made from this.

Dominican Amber is younger (about 15–20 million years old) & comes from the Dominican Republic (hence the name). It is renowned for its clarity and vibrant colour range, some varieties even display an incredible blue fluorescence under UV light.

Mexican amber, also known as Chiapas Amber, is found in the Chiapas region of Mexico, it is roughly 22–30 million years old. It often appears in golden hues but can also be a deep red or green. This type of amber is very transparent and sometimes glows under UV light, much like Dominican amber.

Burmese amber, or Burmite, is the oldest by a mile, and originates from Myanmar, Burma. This Amber is over 90 million years old, making it some of the oldest known amber on Earth. It’s often darker in colour, with colours ranging from deep red, orange or brown, and is usually harder than other ambers.

Copal, meanwhile, is a younger form of tree resin (hundreds to thousands of years old rather than millions) and is often mistaken for true amber.

The colour of Amber can vary significantly. The most well known & common colours are of course yellow & brown, however there are many other colours Amber can be found in including, Blue, Green, Red, Black, Creamy White.

Amber is not a mineral because it lacks a crystal structure and is organic, however it is classed as an organogenic gemstone similar to pearls and coral. There are many imitations of genuine Amber on the market, however there are a few ways in which you can test you amber to find out if it is real.

Visual Inspection

Real amber often has tiny air bubbles or inclusions, sometimes even plants of insects, Amber is rarely flawless so there should be imperfections. If its too perfect or glass like, then it’s probably plastic, resin or glass.

Saltwater Float Test

Amber is very lightweight and will float in saltwater, while plastic or glass will usually sink. If you mix 2 parts water to 1 part salt until dissolved and drop the Amber in, this should give you an answer to whether it is genuine or not.

Heat or Smell Test

Amber gives off a pine smell when gently heated, plastics smell like chemicals or burning plastic. You can rub the amber with a soft cloth rapidly, it may warm up and give off a faint pine scent or you can use a hot needle and touch it on to the Amber, real Amber will not melt whereas fake will.

UV Light Test

When placed under ultraviolet light real amber glows a blue, greenish, or milky white colour, plastic either doesn’t glow or looks suspicious, this is also a good test for Copal as this glows weaker than Amber.

Touch and Feel

Amber is warm to the touch, not cold like glass. It’s also very lightweight, even in large pieces and is super soft only rating at a 2 on the Mohs hardness scale, so is easy to scratch with a finger.

Check out our full range of Baltic Amber!