Mysteries of amber

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   "...When the warm kingdom of the amber pine and it seas set cooled and froze beneath a thick glacial mass, only amber; itself survived, the living sap of a dead tree" Stefan Zeromski: The Sea Breeze (1922)

AMBER - TREASURE OF THE ANCIENT SEASIn Poland, where the importance of amber in both art and culture has a far reaching tradition and its well-documented, rich deposits give hope forthe continuing development of the craft of amber-working, stating the fact that amber is a fossil resin, which unequivocally defines its organic origins, comes as no surprise to anyone.It is more difficult to understand the processes involved in transforming resin into amber. There are chemical equations which explain how the volatile particles in fresh resin are lost (resulting in its solidification). We know that isomeric processes and polymerisation, or oxidisation are involved and that some part is played in this whole process by bacteria. As yet, however, researchers have failed to establish one clear-cut chemical model defining the formation of amber.Baltic amber, also known as s u c c i n i t e. is notable for its high amber-acid content, which ranges from three to eight per cent. It is this concentration of amber-acid which forms the mein feature of succinite and makes it the most highly rated of all fossil resins. Otherfossil resins, of which over one hundred have been identified to date, contain no amber-acid at all or, at the most, less than three per cent. Only a limited number of these resins are suitable for working.Baltic amber has many distinguishing characteristics which help to identify it, from its pure resinous smell to its elementary composition - C: 61-81%, H: 8.5-11%, O: circa 15%, S: up to 0.5%; its hardness - 199-290 megapascals or 2.0-2.5 on Mohs' scale; its density - 0.96-1.096 g/cm3; its melting point - 287-300C; and its refraction coefficient - 1.539-1.542. Nevertheless, the absolute identity of this mineral is currently ascertained by means of infrared spectroscopy.The rich history of amber, from its humble beginrings as a sticky resin in an amber- producing forest through to the semiprecious pebble found on the beach, all add up to create the unique charm of " P o l i s h " B a I t i c a m b e r. In comparison with amber extracted from Sambian mines, which has lain preserved for forty million years in "blue earth" deposits situated below the water-table, it is decidedly more attractive. This is largely thanks to the processes of weathering which have helped enhance its natural beauty.Natural amber is a live semiprecious stone. All the processes which helped the sticky resin set so hard that it can be worked and polished are still ongoing. On its way to the Baltic coast, with which we mistakenly identify the origination of amber (the Baltic is after all a mere ten thousand years old, whilst amber itself is at least forty million years old!) this river-borne resin h a d t o reach t h e a n c i e n t s e a s, where it lay in a salt-water environment undergoing a series of changes which transformed it into amber