Baltic Amber: Treasure from Ancient Trees

Baltic amber is unique in that it is one of only a few gems that do not originate from minerals. Ammolite and pearls, other non-mineral originated gems, have interesting history, but only Baltic amber has been created from trees. The Baltic amber that those trees created has been cherished from ancient times to modern times.

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Baltic amber is basically fossilized resin from old forests of coniferous trees containing succinic acid. Baltic amber’s creation began 40-60 million years ago. As a tree would produce resin, the resin would encompass anything it dropped on. This resulted in many different things being trapped inside the resin. It is common for Baltic amber to have inclusions (the trapped items) that consist of air bubbles, insects, leaves, or bark from trees. For this reason, Baltic amber has been called a window to the past. The DNA strands from those inclusions have been locked inside the Baltic amber for millions of years.

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Found in many areas of the Baltic Sea (80% of the world’s supply of amber), Baltic amber is a soft stone, measuring between 2 and 3 on the Mohs scale, and comes mostly from Sambia (now part of Russia) and Poland. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, have been areas where Baltic amber has been discovered. Even England’s east coast has had a few Baltic amber gemstones wash ashore. In Sambia, the stones are collected during ebb-tide after waves have loosened them from the bottom of the sea. Nets, boats, and divers are also used to collect the stones. Semi-fossilized resin, known as copal, has been found in Germany.

 

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Also known as succinite, Baltic amber comes in many colors, with or without inclusions. Baltic amber is translucent, and the quantity of air bubbles and where they are within the stone determine the translucency of each individual stone. The color is determined by the original tree source and also the air bubbles. The rarest colors of natural amber are white, green, blue, and “kunst” (a sauerkraut color). Baltic amber can be many colors. More common colors are cream, lemon, golden, cognac (brown), cherry, red, or black. Each Baltic amber stone is different—no two pieces are exactly alike.

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Amber is full of history, and amber jewelry has been around as far back as biblical times. Often worn by nobility, amber was not affordable to regular people for many centuries. Citizens of the Roman Empire called amber “gold of the north.” Ancient Romans and Greeks thought amber kept misfortune away. Egyptians believed amber would protect the dead in the afterlife. Amber amulets were placed near the deceased. The Egyptians also believed amber kept mummies from decaying, and pieces of amber have been discovered under the skin of many Egyptian mummies’ hands.

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Metaphysically, amber is said to reduce fatigue, instill confidence, reduce anxiety and depression, heal respiratory conditions, reduce arthritis, and aid the circulatory system. Amber is often prescribed by Russian doctors because of its healing properties. Perhaps, if for no other reason at all, you should obtain Baltic amber because it is beautiful. Baltic amber earrings, pendants, and rings are fabulous things!

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