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Amber:
The Organic Gemstone
Amber,
like pearls and coral, is an organic gem. Organic gems are
produced by living creatures rather than formed in the ground
through geological processes. As such, organic gems tend to
be somewhat more delicate than their mineral counterparts.
Amber
is an organic gemstone that has undergone a geologic transformation.
This golden gem began its existence as plant resin oozing
from trees 30 to 90 million years ago. As this resin dripped
from the plant, it often encased seeds, feathers, plants,
insects and sometimes even small animals as it hardened. Over
time, the plants and the resin were buried under sediments.
The resin has undergone a transformation over millions of
years to become amber. Whatever debris is captured inside
is preserved.
There
is an entire line of study devoted to the study of preserved
biological material in amber. Scientists using electron microscopes
have been able to make extremely detailed models of the rainforests
ecosystems where amber was originally "oozed" millions
of years ago. This is especially true in the Dominican Republic,
where evidence was recently used as a proof for the theory
that the continents of Australia and Sout America were once
connected. An insect was found encased in amber that is now
found only in Australia, leading the scientist to confim that
the continents were once one piece.
Man has
used amber for ornamentation for milennia. Egyptians were
entombed with amber over 5,000 years ago. Prehistoric burial
sites dating back tens of thousands of years in Europe have
been found to contain this lustrous golden gem. It can be
said that amber has been in style since the stone age. Between
1895 and 1900, over 1 million kilos (2.2 million pounds) of
amber were made into jewelry. That's a lot of amber!
When heated,
amber will first soften, then burn. Amber is also a poor conductor
of heat: it will feel warm to the touch while other minerals
will feel cool. Rub a piece of amber with wool and you will
create static electricity. Amber will float in saltwater,
which is why it is often found washed up on beaches throught
Northern Europe after storms.
Today
most amber comes from either the Baltic states or the Dominican
Republic. It is estimated that over two-thirds of Baltic amber
comes from Russia. Baltic amber is older, and thus more highly
prized, but Dominican amber is more likely to contain encased
debris.
You can
find a great selection of wholesale amber jewelry in our website
at http://indiasilver.com.
For more
info about amber, try visiting these sites:
http://www.bway.net/ica/gem-by-gem/english/amber.html
http://www.emporia.edu/earthsci/amber/whatis.htm
(This
article written and published originally on indiasilver.com.
We allow republication provided the piece is copied in its
entirety with links and attribution.)
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