Traditional amber stone is a hard, golden-yellow to brownish-yellow translucent resin. In rare forms it can be blue or green. It is considered an organic gem, as it came from ancient tree resin. It is softer than stone and can be easily scratched. Because amber was created by living tre...
If you’re studying gemology, knowing the different properties helps with identification. For casual gemstone lovers, this knowledge can help you shop smarter, practice propergemstone care, and know the fascinating history behind your favorite jewels. This guide will teach you everything you need t...
Amber, or fossil tree sap, was made famous in the movie "Jurassic Park". Amber is a beautiful stone that is cut and polished and used as a valuable gemstone. It is also a fossil and can contain many preserved insects and other animals and plants that are tens of millions of years old...
As valuable as it is today, amber once commanded an even higher price. Pliny wrote that the Roman Emperor Nero considered even a small amber figurine to be worth more than a healthy slave. Even farther back, amber was an important part of Stone Age man's daily rituals and supernatural bel...
What is a pearl? What is amber fossil? What is optical mineralogy? What is an allotrope? What is retardation in mineralogy? What is salivary IgA? What is modal mineralogy? What gives the gem amethyst its purplish color? What is oolitic limestone?
(below) is another great example of a material best displayed when cut into a cabochon style. As an organic material, amber measures only 2.5 onMoh’s scale of hardness, which means it is largely unsuitable for faceting. That aside, the beauty of amber often lies in the insects and seeds...
gemstones have similar refractive indices, measuring the refractive index is one of the initial steps in the process. Higher RI gemstones are more dazzling than lower RI gemstones. Therefore, amethyst is far less brilliant than a diamond with an RI of 2.42 but more sparkling than amber and ...
Amber is a fossil plant resin found in sediments and sedimentary rocks in many parts of the world. It is hard, brittle, translucent to transparent, and is often cut as a gemstone. It has the appearance of a mineral, but lacks an ordered internal structure and lacks a definite chemical co...
For most people who know little about amber, yellow-orange color associates the most with this gemstone. This color amber is also very common and it accounts for two thirds (~70%) of all pieces found. Amber comes in a lighter color (yellow) when there are tiny bubbles inside this resin...
Ammoliteis an opal-like organic gemstone. It is made of the fossilized shells of ammonites, which in turn are composed primarily of aragonite, the same mineral contained in nacre, with a microstructure inherited from the shell. It is one of few biogenic gemstones; others include amber and pe...