Amber has a variety of shapes, the surface often retains the lines produced when the resin flows, and bubbles and ancient insect, animal or plant remains can often be seen inside.
Common amber types: Jin Po, Jinlanpo, Green Tea Slope, Black Tea Slope, Blood Slope, Plum Slope, Brown Red Slope, Blue Slope, Green Slope, Insect Slope, Beewax, Pergen, Myanmar Root Slope, etc.
On March 6, 20 16, Chinese scientists discovered the oldest amber ore in the world, with an age of about 99 million years.
In ancient China, amber was once called Tiger Spirit, Breed, Animal Spirit, Dunmou, Zhu Jiang, Jade Heritage, etc. It is said that "the tiger spirit is dead and fossilized", or amber is the tears shed by the tiger. These legends contain the speculation and pursuit of amber by ancient Chinese people, suggesting that people think amber has the function of seeking good fortune and avoiding evil, calming the nerves.
Amber is an organic mixture formed by geological processes of coniferous resin from Mesozoic Cretaceous to Cenozoic Tertiary. The formation of amber generally has three stages. In the first stage, resin is secreted from cypress. In the second stage, the resin was deeply buried and petrified, and the composition, structure and characteristics of the resin changed obviously. The third stage is that the petrochemical resin is washed, transported, deposited and diagenetic, thus forming amber.
morphological character
Amorphous, often in the form of nodules, tumors, droplets and so on. Some, such as tree rings, have radial textures; May contain animal remains, plant fragments, etc.
Amber has low hardness, light texture, astringency, jewel-like luster and crystal clear. Another feature of amber is that it contains particularly rich inclusions, such as insects, plants and minerals.
Amber characteristics:
ecological environment
It is mainly distributed in the sediments of Cretaceous and Tertiary glutenite and coal seam.
Harvest and storage
Remove impurities such as sand, gravel and soil after digging out from the stratum or coal seam. Amber is light in texture and easy to store. Perfect amber has a high collection value.
Animal and plant morphology
Most of them are irregular granular, massive, stalactite and granular. Sometimes it contains fossils of plants or insects. The colors are yellow, brownish yellow and red yellow. The stripes are white or yellow. It has a turpentine luster. Transparent to opaque. The fracture surface is shell-shaped and the hardness is 2? 2.5, specific gravity 1.05? 1.09。 Sex is extremely fragile. Triboelectric charging.
Distribution of origin:
Baltic countries (such as Vilnius), Myanmar, Dominican Republic and China.
China distribution
Liaoning, Henan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Qiandao Lake in Chun 'an, Zhejiang and other provinces.
20 1 1 When exploring the Millennium ancient city at the bottom of Qiandao Lake, a large amount of amber was found. Amber has also been found in many mountains around Qiandao Lake.
The history of amber:
Amber was born 40 million to 60 million years ago, belonging to the Eocene in geology. It is a precious turpentine fossil that has undergone qualitative change through high-pressure and high-temperature extrusion of the earth's rock formations. Amber is an amorphous organic semi-precious stone, delicate and light, with a warm and delicate touch. Amber is mostly transparent, and there are many colors, among which yellow is the most common, and there are also red, green and extremely rare blue. Amber was called "amber" in ancient China. "Or" jade ",legend is the soul of the tiger, so it is also called" tiger spirit ". Amber has been regarded as a precious treasure since ancient times, because amber comes from turpentine, and pine trees symbolize longevity in China. Some amber doesn't need to be ignited. It can release a charming pine fragrance with a light touch, which has the effect of calming the nerves and is widely made into religious articles. Since ancient times, people in China have loved pine fragrance and regarded amber and dragon saliva as precious spices. According to the Tang Dynasty's Miscellaneous Notes on Xijing, after the Han Dynasty became emperor, Zhao was an amber pillow, which was used to absorb incense. After BC 1600, residents along the Baltic Sea traded tin and amber as currency with tribes in the southern region in exchange for bronze weapons or other tools. In 2000 BC, the Mycenae, Phoenicians and Etruscans in Central Europe formed the commercial network of amber (note: Etruscan is an ancient country in western Italy). At the same time, Baltic amber spread to the east coast of the Mediterranean via the Aegean Sea. Archaeologists excavated bottles and jars of Mycenae civilization in ancient Greece in Syria and found amber necklaces in the Baltic Sea. In the 5th century A.D., the Romans explored the Baltic Sea in search of amber, during which the amber trade reached an unprecedented grand occasion. In the Middle Ages, Baltic amber was popular for its religious use. In the East, amber is also cherished by all ethnic groups, especially Arabs, Persians, Turks and China.
What kinds of amber are there? What's the value?
According to the different colors and characteristics of amber, the varieties of amber in China are Jin Po, Xuepo, Insect Po, Xiangpo, Shipo, Huapo, Shuipo, Mingpo, Wapo, Michelia wax and Korean pine, among which there is no clear definition. For example, Worm and Lingpo should be considered as one kind, both of which refer to amber containing animal remains. Flower bud refers to amber that has been artificially exploded, among which it should be noted that the pressed amber flower is particularly fine, chaotic and the background is turbid. Blood beeswax refers to opaque amber, and the statement that "Millennium amber is Millennium beeswax" is false. Xiangpo refers to the blood beeswax with obvious fragrance after kneading, because the degree of treatment of beeswax is usually small, so the fragrance is rich. Water amber refers to amber containing water droplets, also called water amber.
Amber is of high value in antiques, fine works of art or biological remains. The economic value of amber depends on the purity, shape, size and color of insects. The color is strong and positive, and the impurities are less. Blue, green and blood red are the best colors, but green amber is found in Dominica, Mexico and Fushun, China. Baltic green amber is mostly caused by chemicals at medium and high temperatures. Transparent blood amber is mostly caused by high temperature baking, and natural blood amber will have visible inclusions. Usually, strong colors are usually accompanied by a small amount of visible impurities. It is said that tiny inclusions are the coloring factor of amber and also come from it. The most valuable variety is amber wrapped with insects, commonly known as "amber hidden bees", with clear insects, realistic shapes, excellent texture, large individuals and large numbers as the best.
Classification:
Classification of amber origin
Baltic amber (composed of Ukraine, Russia, Denmark, Poland, Lithuania and Germany)
Mexican amber
Brazilian amber
myanmar amber
Dominican amber
Fushun amber
Category classification
Opaque amber is traditionally called "secret wax", and we often encounter other names about amber:
Old honey-refers to the opaque amber handed down from generation to generation, red and orange.
Blood amber-refers to blood red amber. The color is like the color of fine red wine. Red as blood is the top grade of amber.
Bone amber refers to white amber.
Jin Po-refers to golden yellow and transparent amber.
Beeswax-translucent to opaque, can be in various colors, with golden yellow, brown yellow, egg yellow and other yellow as the most common, with waxy feeling, waxy resin luster and glassy luster.
Golden twist-refers to the yellow amber in which transparent Jin Po and translucent beeswax are intertwined to form a twisted pattern.
Xiangpo refers to amber with fragrance.
Insect amber refers to amber wrapped in animal and plant remains. Among them, amber Tibetan bee, amber Tibetan mosquito and amber Tibetan fly are more precious.
Shipo-refers to amber with a certain petrochemical degree, which is harder than others.
Blood beeswax-translucent to opaque, pure natural, non-optimized, red, waxy, waxy.
Huapo-amber with various colors and uneven colors.
Raw ore-refers to the ore mined without mineral processing or other processing processes.
Lanpo-Amber, light yellow with blue facing the sun, is produced in Dominica and China.
Blue-green amber-The color produced in Mexico is blue-green, similar to that in Dominica and China.
Yellow honey-yellow beeswax.
Half honey and half beads-also called pearl honey or egg honey-refer to transparent amber wrapped in opaque beeswax.
White honey-white beeswax.
Amber filled with water-amber with water in it. This is a very rare and precious piece of amber.
Amber-a kind of amber that is black when observed vertically by naked eyes and bright red when illuminated.
Yellow and transparent, high petrochemical degree and high hardness.
How to identify the authenticity of amber?
The criteria for identifying amber are solid texture, no crack and beautiful color. The most precious amber is highly transparent and insect-like, and there are grades according to the cleanliness, shape and size of insects. Amber with insects is used to make face stones and chest pendants, which is of high value. The best grade can be listed as gems. Golden yellow and yellow-red amber are the top grade. Amber with many cracks, soft texture, dull color or similar color to ordinary stone is of no use value.
Eliminating the false and retaining the true is the main purpose of distinguishing amber from other jewels and jade. Therefore, it is particularly important to understand the characteristics of real amber and its imitations. There are several kinds of imitations: glass, plastic, resin (resin with insufficient years, such as Barker resin) and synthetic. Imitations are called imitations because they imitate some characteristics of the real thing, and are similar to the real thing in perception, feel and feel, which makes inexperienced people mistake it for the real thing.
Amber is an organic gem, which is warm and light to the touch, which makes it different from glass. Natural amber blocks float in salt water and sink in clear water. The smell of natural amber is very special ―― when rubbed, heated or burned, natural amber gives off a pleasant resin smell, which helps to distinguish amber. Scraping the sample surface can also help to identify-scraping the natural amber surface will produce fine powder, while scraping the plastic imitation surface will have spiral scratches. Compared with artificial resin blocks, natural amber is easier to pulverize. If there are large, rare and precious inclusions in amber, they are probably imitations. The optimized amber, including those with inclusions, has a characteristic that only the surface has bright colors, while the interior is almost colorless. Amber is very precious ―― if its price is much lower than the market price at that time, we must realize that it may be an imitation.
Natural amber reacts weakly with ether and various solvents, while imitations made of Coba resin react weakly with ether and acetone (nail polish remover). After a while, the surface will become dull and sticky.
Copa resin has a strong fragrance. When the hot needle touches Copa resin, it will melt and stick to the needle, forming a long "line". Products made of Coba resin will produce very small and deep hairlike cracks when exposed to sunlight and air.
Amber chains or beads without inlay will make a soft and slightly dull sound when rubbed gently in your hands. If the sound of plastic or resin is crisp.
Amber rough stone, which has not been finely polished, can smell a faint special aroma after being rubbed by hand to generate heat. The fragrance of white beeswax is slightly heavier than other ordinary amber, so it is called "Xiangpo". Generally speaking, amber that has been polished or carved by hand smells bad when rubbed by hand.
The texture, color depth, transparency and refractive index of true amber will change with the observation angle and illumination. This feeling can't be found in any other substance. Just as we distinguish between true and false people, for example, superb artists can create lifelike wax figures, and "confusing the false with the true" is just talk, and even the best wax figures can't escape our eyes. Amber is transparent but moist, unlike glass, crystal and diamond, which can be seen at a glance. Fake amber is either transparent or opaque, and the color is fake when it dies. Artificial fake amber is dazzling, and it will feel lifeless cold light.
Put amber under the money detector, it will have fluorescence, light green, green, blue, white and so on. Plastic fake amber does not change color.
Friction with static electricity: Amber can attract small pieces of paper after rubbing on clothes.
Amber is a neutral gem, generally neither too cold nor too hot. Glass imitations will have a cold feeling.
Burning needles stab amber in inconspicuous places, which has a faint pine fragrance. Bakelite and plastic smell pungent and stick to needles. Friendly reminder: Too hot will leave black spots on the amber surface, which will affect the appearance.
How to store and maintain amber products?
Amber has low hardness and is afraid of falling and bumping. It should be stored separately, not with diamonds or other sharp or hard jewelry. Amber ornaments are afraid of high temperature and should not be placed in the sun or next to the heater for a long time. If the air is too dry, it will crack easily. Try to avoid fluctuating temperature difference. Try not to touch alcohol, gasoline, kerosene and organic solutions such as nail polish, perfume, hair gel and pesticides containing alcohol. Take off amber jewelry when spraying perfume or hair gel.
Pay attention to your health
Friction between amber and hard objects will make its surface rough and produce fine marks, so don't clean amber with hard objects such as brushes or toothbrushes. When amber is stained with dust and sweat, it can be soaked in warm water with neutral detergent, washed by hand and wiped clean with a soft cloth. Finally, drop a small amount of olive oil or tea oil, gently wipe the amber surface, and then wipe off the excess oil stains with a cloth to restore luster.
Maintenance suggestion
Amber has a low melting point, is easy to melt, and is afraid of heat and exposure. Amber products should avoid direct sunlight and should not be placed in high temperature places. Amber is easy to dehydrate and crack when it is too dry. Amber is an organic substance, which is not suitable for contact with organic solvents, such as nail polish, alcohol, gasoline, kerosene, heavy liquid, etc., and it is not suitable for dressing cabinets. Generally, it is not necessary to measure its density with heavy liquid, but to measure its refractive index with oil immersion method. Amber is fragile and has low hardness, so it is not suitable for external impact. Friction and scratches should be avoided to prevent scratches and breakage.
collect
The color of amber is very important. Among many amber varieties, golden amber with golden color and blood amber with bright red color are the best collections. Many businessmen often cheat collectors with synthetic gold amber and high-temperature dried blood amber, and make profits from it. Pay attention to the distinction when buying amber. Secondly, when choosing amber, try to choose a larger amber. The bigger amber is, the more expensive it is, and the collection price is slightly higher. For collectors and investors, the rarer amber is, the more collectible it is. The rarer animals or plants in amber are, the easier it is to impress collectors. Some amber will form some special contents and scenery in the process of natural formation. This natural beauty is hard to find, and this amber is priceless.