The History of Amber
Amber is not a mineral, as it began as a amorphous resin. In fact, it is actually a "glob" of fossilized tree resin or sap that flowed down an ancient coniferous tree trunk in an ancient forest--perhaps in a forest that is now lost in antiquity. The tree sap was sticky, and it caught organic materials: drops of water, bits of moss, dirt, bark, seeds and insects. As it grew older, it hardened into a sort of Mother-Nature-made plastic, a resin, and mellowed into a golden, light brown-orange color known as Amber. The more clear the resin, the more perfect the color, the more full of organic materials the amber is, the more it is worth. Amber is considered a gemstone--an organic gemstone like a pearl, which is generated from biological processes. Amber is generally found in association with lignite coal, which is also the fossilized remains of trees and other plant material.
Amber perfectly preserves insects from decomposition--even their soft tissues are preserved. As seen in the movie Jurassic Park, mosquitoes can still have the blood of their victims inside them, sealed and kept intact forever. It's no wonder Amber is a symbol of eternity--and eternal divinity.
Amber is most often set in gold and silver jewelry. The Mediterranean countries started to trade in Amber for jewelry making as far back as 2500 BC. Amber from this period has been found 600 miles from its place of origin. Amber was very popular and highly valued in this time period, because it is softer than minerals and was easier to work with primitive methods.
The word "electricity" is derived from the Greek name for Amber, electrum. This is because Amber can acquire an electric charge when rubbed. Thales described this magical property in about 600 BC - and it remains one of the most useful methods of identifying real amber in gold and silver jewelry. There have always been claims that amber rosaries and amulets can actually conduct current, discharging excess energy in the body. Amber has long been worn and carried by men, as a talisman against sexual impotence. |
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