| Amber has a glowing beauty, that has given it an enduring popularity and so it has been used in jewellery Since the dawn of civilastion and it has even had poems written about its charms. In more recent times, films such as Jurassic Park have increased the publics curiosity about this mineral. \n\nWhat is Amber? Well, amber is ancient pine resin that has fossilised over time and under the influence of great heat. Deposits of amber are found across Europe and Africa, especially well know are those in Baltics.\n\nAmber can be polished and carved and the earliest know example is some amber beads found in Southern England, which date to around 10,000 BC. The cutural importance of amber has been vast, archaeology has linked amber to civilisations through history and across the globe.\n\nAmber is usually a rich golden yellow colour and often has flecks of other material held within it, even pieces with small seeds, insects and flowers have been found. \n\nThe Fly in amber piece owned by the British museum and believed to be the oldest exmaple of that species was found to be a fake, most likely produced during the Victorian period and this warns us that as with all things popular, amber has been copied. It is alway advisable to test to see if a piece of amber is genuine. The best test for the casual collector is the touch and taste test, as it non-invasive and easy to do.\n\nTo test if your amber is real or fake, first, toch the piece lightly with your fingers, it should luke warm and feel quite light. If the amber piece is cold to the touch and quite heavy it is most likely to be polished stone or glass, but, not amber. Amber should feel more like plastic than glass or stone and if you gently tap it against a hard surface, it should not emit a sharpe or hard noise, like glass or stone.\n\nIf you have established that your amber piece isn't glass or stone, then you can test to see if it is plastic. gentley wash your pick in warm, mildly soapy water, and rinse in clear water and then taste it, if it tastes chemically, then you have plastic, if it tastes of nothing, then it is most likely amber.\n\nOne of the points to remember is that if your piece is not amber, it does not mean that it is a modern fake, as pieces looking like amber have been produced for many years. The Victorians loved amber and they produced lots of jewellery in glass and stone to emulate its beauty.\n\nJewellery pieces in faux amber in celluloid, lucite and bakelite are now also highly collectable, a testement to popularity of amber over the years.\n\nHere at Steptoes Dog Antiques Online store, you can find a range of amber and faux amber pieces, such as bracelets, necklaces, brooches and faux amber handled fruit knives in our jewellery and cutlery departments. |
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