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Not really a stone but treated like a gem, amber is too soft to facet like diamonds, rubies, and other gemstones, which why it’s usually polished into beads and cabochons or carved into cameos. Because this fossilized tree sap softens when...
Not really a stone but treated like a gem, amber is too soft to facet like diamonds, rubies, and other gemstones, which why it’s usually polished into beads and cabochons or carved into cameos. Because this fossilized tree sap softens when heated, small chunks of the material can be pressed together to form “Ambroid,” which is often dyed to correct color irregularities. That said, irregularities are what make amber pendants and rings so attractive, whether it's an intricate latticework of cracks or a petrified, prehistoric bug.
From ancient times, amber was valued as a material for the decorative arts. Artisans fashioned amber into snuff boxes and bottles, shaped it into the handles of ceremonial knives, and used it as an inlay alongside mother of pearl and ivory. It was a favorite of jewelers, too, who formed amber into beads for necklaces such as rosaries. In fact, by the Middle Ages, most of the Baltic region’s amber was used exclusively for this form of religious jewelry—by the 14th century, it was actually illegal to own a piece of raw amber unless you were gathering it for the Teutonic Knights, who were known in the southern Baltics as the Amber Lords.
“Gathering” is the correct word, because unlike minerals, that’s how amber was acquired, at least initially. The most famous source of amber was—and still is—the Baltic region, but amber can also be found from Myanmar to Mexico. Fisherman living on the Samland Peninsula between what is now Poland and Lithuania were regularly compelled by the Amber Lords to set aside their fishing nets for long enough to gather amber tossed ashore by fierce Baltic storms. When the soggy ground was picked clean, these fishermen would attach a deep net called a kascher to the end of a long pole to scoop up the amber tangled in the flotsam and jetsam of the sea. Others would take to small boats to dislodge boulders secreting caches of amber underneath them.
Eventually, amber was mined more conventionally. Dredging the amber beds of the Baltic was an early form of amber mining, but by the 17th century, amber was being mined on dry land, too, although the mines themselves often filled up with sea water because they were close to the ocean and the tunnels dug by miners regularly went dozens of feet below sea level.
During the 18th century, the cachet once enjoyed by amber artisans declined, while the material itself was largely relegated to decorative accents (the handles of umbrellas, for example). By the Victorian Era, amber was just another semi-precious material to be turned and carved into decorative baubles for the emerging middle class. Like jet, which was made into souvenirs near its principle source, Whitby, in northern England, amber jewelry and knickknacks were sold on the banks of the Baltic.
For those who love to wear vintage amber jewelry, be aware that the material can dehydrate, causing it to lose its rich color and dry out, which makes it brittle. Amber is also mistaken for another type of solidified sap called copal, whose fossilized form is called copaline. Copal jewelry resembles amber jewelry, and sometimes the words are used interchangeably by dealers, but they are definitely not the same thing.
Continue readingNot really a stone but treated like a gem, amber is too soft to facet like diamonds, rubies, and other gemstones, which why it’s usually polished into beads and cabochons or carved into cameos. Because this fossilized tree sap softens when heated, small chunks of the material can be pressed together to form “Ambroid,” which is often dyed to correct color irregularities. That said, irregularities are what make amber pendants and rings so attractive, whether it's an intricate latticework of cracks or a petrified, prehistoric bug.
From ancient times, amber was valued as a material for the decorative arts. Artisans fashioned amber into snuff boxes and bottles, shaped it into the handles of ceremonial knives, and used it as an inlay alongside mother of pearl and ivory. It was a favorite of jewelers, too, who formed amber into beads for necklaces such as rosaries. In fact, by the Middle Ages, most of the Baltic region’s amber was used exclusively for this form of religious jewelry—by the 14th century, it was actually illegal to own a piece of raw amber unless you were gathering it for the Teutonic Knights, who were known in the southern Baltics as the Amber Lords.
“Gathering” is the correct word, because unlike minerals, that’s how amber was acquired, at least initially. The most famous source of amber was—and still is—the Baltic region, but amber can also be found from Myanmar to Mexico. Fisherman living on the Samland Peninsula between what is now Poland and Lithuania were regularly compelled by the Amber Lords to set aside their fishing nets for long enough to gather amber tossed ashore by fierce Baltic storms. When the soggy ground was picked clean, these fishermen would attach a deep net called a kascher to the end of a long pole to scoop up the amber tangled in the flotsam and jetsam of the sea. Others would take to small boats to dislodge boulders secreting caches of amber underneath them.
Eventually, amber was mined more conventionally. Dredging the...
Not really a stone but treated like a gem, amber is too soft to facet like diamonds, rubies, and other gemstones, which why it’s usually polished into beads and cabochons or carved into cameos. Because this fossilized tree sap softens when heated, small chunks of the material can be pressed together to form “Ambroid,” which is often dyed to correct color irregularities. That said, irregularities are what make amber pendants and rings so attractive, whether it's an intricate latticework of cracks or a petrified, prehistoric bug.
From ancient times, amber was valued as a material for the decorative arts. Artisans fashioned amber into snuff boxes and bottles, shaped it into the handles of ceremonial knives, and used it as an inlay alongside mother of pearl and ivory. It was a favorite of jewelers, too, who formed amber into beads for necklaces such as rosaries. In fact, by the Middle Ages, most of the Baltic region’s amber was used exclusively for this form of religious jewelry—by the 14th century, it was actually illegal to own a piece of raw amber unless you were gathering it for the Teutonic Knights, who were known in the southern Baltics as the Amber Lords.
“Gathering” is the correct word, because unlike minerals, that’s how amber was acquired, at least initially. The most famous source of amber was—and still is—the Baltic region, but amber can also be found from Myanmar to Mexico. Fisherman living on the Samland Peninsula between what is now Poland and Lithuania were regularly compelled by the Amber Lords to set aside their fishing nets for long enough to gather amber tossed ashore by fierce Baltic storms. When the soggy ground was picked clean, these fishermen would attach a deep net called a kascher to the end of a long pole to scoop up the amber tangled in the flotsam and jetsam of the sea. Others would take to small boats to dislodge boulders secreting caches of amber underneath them.
Eventually, amber was mined more conventionally. Dredging the amber beds of the Baltic was an early form of amber mining, but by the 17th century, amber was being mined on dry land, too, although the mines themselves often filled up with sea water because they were close to the ocean and the tunnels dug by miners regularly went dozens of feet below sea level.
During the 18th century, the cachet once enjoyed by amber artisans declined, while the material itself was largely relegated to decorative accents (the handles of umbrellas, for example). By the Victorian Era, amber was just another semi-precious material to be turned and carved into decorative baubles for the emerging middle class. Like jet, which was made into souvenirs near its principle source, Whitby, in northern England, amber jewelry and knickknacks were sold on the banks of the Baltic.
For those who love to wear vintage amber jewelry, be aware that the material can dehydrate, causing it to lose its rich color and dry out, which makes it brittle. Amber is also mistaken for another type of solidified sap called copal, whose fossilized form is called copaline. Copal jewelry resembles amber jewelry, and sometimes the words are used interchangeably by dealers, but they are definitely not the same thing.
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