Amber is an organic material originating as resin from the bark of trees. The reason I am calling it autumnal is because of its light to dark yellowish to reddish brown colour, which for me is the statement of Autumn 😉!
The resin originating from the bark of trees, is deposited in sediments, then it is fossilized and turned into amber. In reality, this resin is produced as a defence against a disease and attack of insects. This is the reason why sometimes in amber we can find trapped insects, either when looking at the piece directly or with the aid of the microscope. In addition,plant debris can be seen sometimes as inclusion in amber as well as minerals, such as liquids or gases. The age of amber is variable and it can begin at 10 million years old and reach 300 million years old. Moreover, the colour of the amber can slightly vary according to the region it comes from. For example, amber originating from Baltic, which is the most famous amber in the market, has a yellow to golden brownish colour, whereas amber coming from Mexico has a yellow colour with a red tinge. Baltic amber is 30 to 40 million years old and it is used commonly in many pieces of jewellery. Amber can be trasparent, translucent or opaque and it displays a resinous lustre.
Amber is a very soft material,with a hardness around 2.5 at Moh's scale, so great caution should be taken when you wear jewellery with it. You should avoid contact with perfumes, hair sprays, make-up and nail polish removers. Moreover, it is better if you keep your amber pieces of jewellery in a place, where the sunlight does not reach them, because it can cause stress cracks and sun spangles can be created on your pieces. These 'sun spangles' are also created when you heat an amber in order to make it look more transparent. However sometimes these inclusions are desirable! Amber is usually fashioned as cabochons, beads and carvings. On the photo below a cabochon cut amber, with 'sun spangles', because of heat treatment, is depicted.
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| Cabochon cut amber with 'sun spangles' |
In Greece, many people used to make worry beads or 'kompoloi', as we call it in Greek, with amber beads. This is a string of beads, that you can manipulate it with both of your hands or just one hand. You can find it in many touristic shops around Greece or if you want to buy it and have it certified too, you can look for it at jewellery shops. On the photo below you can have a look at a 'kompoloi' or worry of amber beads.
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| 'Kompoloi' or worry of amber beads |
Concluding, if you like organic gem materials, then opt for jewellery pieces made with amber. The colour is so autumnal, like the colour of the falling leaves from the trees and you can combine it with white, cream, brown, green, dark red and blue clothes, making you feel that the new season has come 😀!
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