Amber is the direct result of the fossilization of pine tree resin. Around 45 million years ago, "amber-giving" pine trees deposited resin into the soil of what is now Scandinavia and the Baltic area of Poland and Russia. This resin was carried by waterways to the Polish Baltic coastline, where the largest deposits of amber have been discovered. See Amber History for further information. Although amber is not mineralized as are other gemstones, it is considered, and used as a semi-precious gemstone.
Amber typically has many "Inclusions" of needles, twigs, leaves, flowers, and seeds, as well as small insects, and arachnids that became trapped and preserved in the pine resin as it began to fossilize.
Evidence of amber use by ancient European cultures dates back to the 13th millennium B.C. and before. Amber jewelry was very popular in ancient Roman, and an "Amber Route" was developed for the trade in amber which fostered social and economic development in many parts of northern Europe.
The 17th century was the golden age of the amber craft and the city of Gdansk (Poland) was its epicenter. During this period, notable craftsmen and artists created chandeliers, caskets, furniture and statues, of gold, silver, and amber for royalty and the wealthy of Europe.
Amber is a soft material with a hardness of 2 to 3 on the Mohs scale. Amber is heterogeneous in composition, but consists of several resinous bodies more or less soluble in alcohol, ether and chloroform, associated with an insoluble bituminous substance. Amber is a macromolecule by free radical polymerization of several precursors in the labdane family. Amber has a refractive index of 1.546.
Chemical composition: C10H16O
Semi-Precious Stones