[Jewelry making - Article 00309] - Re: [Orchid] Amber colors....

[Andrew Werby]

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>     I would like to correct something, do not take this personably.
>     This statement is false. "However as all amber has microscopic
>     moisture bubbles inside, they burst when heated leaving tiny
>     circular fractures inside, these marks being the proof that the
>     amber has been heated." Here are the facts, "Another popular type
>     of inclusion are "star spangles." 

    Unfortunately, most of what is written on amber comes from old
    references; accurate when written as far as was known, few consult
    later archeology findings. These push the amber trade far back into
    time.) While, as stated, this occurs naturally, chances are (I would
    not hazard the odds) it was deliberately done. As for proof a piece
    of Baltic amber has been heat treated, if done properly there is no
    test in the world that can do it, as pressure and some heat caused
    by such is necessary to change the resin to amber in the fist place. 

    Baltic amber often is opaque because of the presence of microscopic
    air bubbles. Heating it in oil (or pig fat, I suppose) will clarify
    it, but those round fractures (more commonly called "sun spangles")
    are a tell-tale sign that this has been done; I've always considered
    it definitive proof of treatment, although their absence is not
    proof that heat treatment was not done, since careful cooling can
    apparently avoid them. My sources vary as to whether they are due to
    internal traces of moisture or to simple heat stress. (Quenching has
    no part in the process, though, and it is usually done before
    cutting.) They don't really count as an "inclusion", which properly
    speaking are objects that were incorporated inside the amber when it
    originally formed. I've never seen them in untreated amber, although
    ordinary fractures are common, which make the stones less, not more
    valuable. While clear Baltic amber (even with "spangles") is
    preferred by some to amber in its natural state (which is why the
    heating process is done), I doubt that naturally clear amber would
    ever be treated to produce the fractures - it would be vandalism,
    like intentionally cracking a flawless gem. I don't believe that
    heat and pressure have much to do with the formation of amber from
    tree resin; I've always heard it's a very long-term process of
    polymerization, with molecular chains forming and cross-linking over
    millions of years at normal depths and temperatures. 

    Here are some sources, if you don't believe me: 

    http://cigem.ca/367.html (Canadian Institute of Gemology)
    http://thecolorsource.com/gems/amber.htm
    http://tinyurl.com/333c4d
    http://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Amber.html

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com
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