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Amber in : Necklaces & Pendants Bracelets Earrings Ethnic, Tribal Jewelry Vintage, Antique Rings Loose Diamonds & Gemstones Body Jewelry Loose Beads Handcrafted, Artisan Jewelry Collectibles Rocks, Fossils, Minerals http://www.gplatt.demon.co.uk Of all the amber deposits in the world, probably the most famous and certainly the largest is that of the Baltic region. It represents some 80% of the worlds known amber resource. Going back into prehistory this amber has been used and fashioned by humankind in countless ways and in measureless quantities. Amber from this source can be found on the East Coast of Britain all the way to the far shores of Estonia. The Baltic amber deposits range between 35 to 40 million years old and is without the largest source of amber yet discovered. Botanical Origins The source of most of this amber has for many years presumed to be the extinct species of tree Pinites Succinifer. This conclusion was originally made by Aycke in 1853. However, as recently as 1985 Poinar and Haverkamp completed research involving infrared spectroscopy and drawing on earlier thin-layer chromatographic studies by Kucharska and Kwiatkowski cast some doubt on this long held view. Poinar et al speculate that probably more than one tree was responsible for the Baltic amber deposits. ____________________________________________________________________________ "Thousands of years ago people were fascinated by the extraordinary, inexplicable properties of the golden pebbles found on beaches and in coastal forests. The stone burnt when cast into the fire, exuding a pleasant resinous smell and aromatic smoke, and, when rubbed, attracted various small light items towards itself as if by magic. The stone interior would often hide small undamaged plants and insects, which must also have found their way inside by magic. That sufficed to arouse the curiosity of primitive man, with admiration & respect for this unusual gem. It is no wonder man started attributing magical powers to amber." — excerpt from The Great Book of Amber by Elzbieta Mierzwinska http://www.amberjewelry.com/ A Brief History of Baltic Amber Amber stirs the soul, delights the eye, warms the heart and excites the world's scientific imagination. Amber, an organic plastic, has the unique & singular ability to encompass and preserve the organic materials it encounters, like the the proverbial fly trapped in honey. Baltic amber is approximately 40-60 million years old and was held dear by many ancient cultures, treasured both for protective & decorative qualities. In modern western times, the movie Jurassic Park caused a surge of popular interest in this gemstone. However, amber has long commanded the hearts and minds of humans—in fact, it has commanded whole economies. Inside the plant material and insects it has encapsulated, strands of DNA—life’s basic code—are also captured. This is why amber is often referred to as a “Window to the Past.” http://en.wikipedia.org Although amber is found along the shores of a large part of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, the great amber-producing country is the promontory of Sambia, now part of Russia. Pieces of amber torn from the sea-floor are cast up by the waves, and collected at ebb-tide. Sometimes the searchers wade into the sea, furnished with nets at the end of long poles, by means of which they drag in the sea-weed containing entangled masses of amber; or they dredge from boats in shallow water and rake up amber from between the boulders. Divers have been employed to collect amber from the deeper waters. Systematic dredging on a large scale was at one time carried on in the Curonian Lagoon by Messrs Stantien and Becker, the great amber merchants of Königsberg. At the present time extensive mining operations are conducted in quest of amber. The pit amber was formerly dug in open works, but is now also worked by underground galleries. The nodules from the blue earth have to be freed from matrix and divested of their opaque crust, which can be done in revolving barrels containing sand and water. The sea-worn amber has lost its crust, but has often acquired a dull rough surface by rolling in sand. Amber is extensively used for beads and other ornaments, and for cigar-holders and the mouth-pieces of pipes. It is regarded by the Turks as specially valuable, inasmuch as it is said to be incapable of transmitting infection as the pipe passes from mouth to mouth. The variety most valued in the East is the pale straw-coloured, slightly cloudy amber. Some of the best qualities are sent to Vienna for the manufacture of smoking appliances. In working amber, it is turned on the lathe and polished with whitening and water or with rotten stone and oil, the final lustre being given by friction with flannel. During the working much electricity is developed. |
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