Amber Gemstones and Amber Jewelry
Although amber's use in adornment is probably as old as mankind, in recent history it has had a limited market. Of course, that was before millions of people saw dinosaur DNA extracted from a mosquito trapped in amber in the movie Jurassic Park. Millions of people learned from the movie that amber, which is fossilized pine tree sap, is ancient and valuable, like an antique from previous history.
The two main sources of amber on the market today are the Baltic states and the Dominican Republic. Amber from the Baltic states is older, and therefore preferred on the market, but amber from the Dominican Republic is more likely to have insect inclusions. Prices of amber can range from $20 to $40,000 or more.
Fortunately for new amber enthusiasts, amber from the Baltic states is more available on the market than in previous years due to the liberalization of the economies of eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The largest mine in the Baltic region is in Russia, west of Kaliningrad. Baltic amber is found in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Russia, and occasionally washed up on the shores of the Baltic Sea as far away as Denmark, Norway, and England. Other amber sources include Myanmar (formerly Burma), Lebanon, Sicily, Mexico, Romania, Germany, and Canada.
The Greeks called amber elektron, or sun-made, perhaps because of this story, or perhaps because it becomes electrically charged when rubbed with a cloth and can attract small particles. Homer mentions amber jewelry - earrings and a necklace of amber beads - as a princely gift in the Odyssey. Another ancient writer, Nicias, said that amber was the juice or essence of the setting sun congealed in the sea and cast up on the shore.
The Romans sent armies to conquer and control amber producing areas. Emperor Nero was a great connoisseur of amber. During his time, wrote Roman historian Pliny, the price of an amber figurine, no matter how small, exceeded the price of a living healthy slave.
The ancient Germans burned amber as incense, so they called it bernstein, or "burn stone." Clear colorless amber was considered the best material for rosary beads in the Middle Ages due to its smooth silky feel. Certain orders of knights controlled the trade and unauthorized possession of raw amber was illegal in most of Europe by the year 1400.
Dr Raul Cano of California Polytechnic state University at San Luis Obispo, a molecular biologist, reported in the British journal Nature that he and his colleagues had extracted DNA from a weevil that was trapped in amber 120 to 135 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The amber, which was from the Lower Cretaceous period, was mined in the mountains of Lebanon south of Beirut by Aftim Acra, who has a collection of amber pieces containing 700 insects, including termites, moths, caterpillars, spiders, pseudoscorpions, and midges.
