Posted 10 years ago
amberpro
(1 item)
Well I just bought this recently and it's such a beauty. Very rare to find such a quality lovely graded necklace in such an untouched original condition. Each bead has fabulous striations and patterns and the colour and polish is outstanding. Each bead is 100% opaque butterscotch which is the most sought after type. It also weighs an incredible 90g!
I love it! Natures glowing gold!
yes, to me its better than gold! glad you like it too!
Your necklace is beautiful. Given how popular amber is today, and how many "fakes" I suspect are hitting the market, what should one look for to determine whether the amber is correct? Thanks for your input!
well there is a lot of checks one can do. The first easiest one is seeing if it floats in salt water if it doesn't than its not amber if it does than it can be. The next test what I do is feel it. pure amber has a unique " sticky"feel to it which is hard to duplicate. plastic and Bakelite feel smoother. this takes a bit of practice but is not difficult to learn. try testing by getting a real one and Bakelite one and close your eyes and feel the difference between the two. Also natural amber beads will have some chips usually near the drill hole and the recess left is more layered in structure whereas copies, chip like chunks. There is also the graining to look for and the weight of them as well. Most commonly found is compressed amber which is no where near as good and looks dull compared to natural beads. I hope that helps a bit in your quest. good luck!
Thank you! Seems like a LOT of amber is going on eBay. Given many of your tests involve having the material in hand, should the auctions be avoided?
there is a lot of amber on ebay, most of it is real! however it depends on what you are looking for. If you want the best, which is pure opaque perfectly matched round beads with a good weight than that's difficult to find. However you can usually pick up average weight with average colour for a few hundred pounds or sometimes you can get good colour but odd or mismatched shapes. Never go for dull perfectly round and perfectly colour matched beads as they are usually compressed type. Natural amber will always have colour variations and graining in them. I must admit it does take patience to find just the right one. Going to an auction is good, as then you can handle them beforehand and inspect it properly. this is probably the way to go as long as you check it out online first to see if it is got potential!
Great advice! Thanks!