Amber
General Information
Amber is a beautiful stone that is cut and polished and used as a valuable gemstone. It is fossil tree sap, and can contain many preserved insects and other animals and plants that are tens of millions of years old. The odd inclusions that are often seen in amber usually add to amber's unique look and in many cases greatly increase its value.
The fossils that are encased in amber probably got there when they flew or crawled on to the fresh seeping sap and then got stuck. The sap oozed over the trapped animals and perhaps fell to the ground and was later covered by dirt and debris. The sap later hardened and became a fossil.
The fossils are mostly insects such as gnats, flies, wasps, bees and ants. Occasionally more exotic insects are trapped in the amber such as grasshoppers, preying mantises, beetles, moths, termites, butterflies, etc. Other non-insect animals are found in amber too such as spiders, centipedes, scorpions and even frogs and lizards. No really large animals like mammals or birds are seen in amber, but feathers and fur have been seen. Invaluable plant remains have also been found in amber including flowers, mushroom caps, seeds, leaves, stems, pine needles and pine cones. The rarity of the trapped fossils controls the value of the amber more so than the quality of the amber.
Amber is often imitated by plastics, colored glasses and some modern tree resins. However, its hardness is usually greater and it is tougher than other resins. It has a low specific gravity, so it can float in salt water; this trate has not been duplicated in imitation amber. Inclusions can also distinguish it from plastics and glasses.
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Chemistry: C10H16O, Succinic Acid
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Class: Mineraloids
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Subclass: None
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Color: Yellow to Orange
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Streak: White |
Luster: Resinous
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Transparency: Transparent to translucent
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Crystal System: Amorphus; no structure |
Hardness: 2
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Cleavage:
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Fracture: Conchoidial
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Specific Gravity: 1.1
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Crystal Habits: None
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Uses: Ornamental gemstone and semi-precious stone; used in research of fossils
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Associated Minerals:
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Other Characteristics: Can be burned; fluorescent under UV light
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Notable Occurrences: All Baltic countries, Venezuela, Russia, Romania, Burma and the Dominican Republic
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Best Field Indicators: Color, density, toughness
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