Jewelry

[ennui1]

On 2/2/2014 sugarflake said:

There is also some pressed amber out there which is compressed from scraps. I stay away from that.

Compressed amber is usually mostly clear. Look for the internal inclusions.

[HandJive]

Green Amber has a layer of the tree bark on the side the sap formed on the tree which reflects light from within, and gives it the beautiful greenish color.

Amber is often substituted with the lesser quality Copal, and marketed as Amber jewelry. Just like anything that attains value due to popularity, fakes are abundant.

Wikipedia has a reference page on Amber types, with links for more information.

[Kachina624]

Jay King sells copal but explains that it is not as old as true amber.

[Beach Baby 1]

On 2/2/2014 Susan Louise said:

Did anyone else find it odd that they rushed through the amber pieces segment/presentation?

I ordered the amber pendant...always wanted an amber piece of jewelry. I just think it's so cool that it's between 25-50 million years old!

I thought the cross with citrine was particularly stunning. As for zipping through them, doesn't bother me anymore. They have many pieces they didn't even show for a moment or present that I think many would like because they were different and much more reasonably priced. They clearly designated these shows for more HE pieces. Do let us know what you think when you get it home, enjoy!

[Maxine49]

They have producers who run the shows---through the ear pieces that the hosts and Judith wear. The show is planned out and a certain amount of time is allotted to each piece. The host and Judith have no ability to change the product line-up as prearranged. The producer runs the show---off camera.

[MizKringle]

I looked up a little more information about amber, and it is actually fossilized tree resin. That was my understanding in the past. This does not mean it is plastic, but plastics and medicines have been made from certain types of tree resins. Various sources explicitly stated that it was not tree sap. As for it being a gemstone, some sources referred to it as a stone or a gemstone. I think it depends on how you define stone or gemstone, but amber has certainly been used ornamentally in jewelry for thousands of years.

Most amber on the market is usually 30 - 90 million years old, but pieces have been found that are over 300 million years old.. If the tree resin has not fully fossilized, it is referred to as copal - so copal is not as old as amber. Small bits of plants or animals are sometimes found in amber.

I thought that Baltic amber was not color treated, but in some cases it has been. While we don't know, I would guess that the amber Judith used was not color treated. Small bits of amber are commonly compressed and then cut into shapes for cheaper jewelry. While there are different ways to obtain amber, the most common is from bits coming up from the sea floor and washing onto land, which is then picked up by hand. Amber can float on salt water.

[ennui1]

On 2/4/2014 mskringle said:

As for it being a gemstone, some sources referred to it as a stone or a gemstone. I think it depends on how you define stone or gemstone, but amber has certainly been used ornamentally in jewelry for thousands of years.

Since amber is organic, it's in the same category as pearls. Not stones, but still precious.

Judith has sold so many doublets, triplets, lab created, synthetic, coated ... I have zero confidence in her amber. I'd guess it's compressed.

Did you know there's an amber mafia?

"Kaliningrad, an isolated Russian Baltic exclave between Poland and Lithuania, is well known for being home to the world's richest underground deposits of Baltic amber, a specific subset of amber that is found only in northern Europe.

"The Kaliningrad region holds over 90 percent (over 250,000 tons) of the world's supplies of amber and is the only Russian region where amber is produced from deposits.

"However, in the amber-rich areas illegal mining is rife. Experts estimate that, alongside the legal extraction of 340 tons, between 60 and 100 tons of amber is mined illegally every year in the Kaliningrad region, according to RIA Novosti.

"The local amber mafia controls many of the stone deposits. Hundreds of kilograms of high-quality amber are being exported on the black market.

"In the last few years in the Kaliningrad region, many amber barons have been raided as part of a continuous criminal investigation into illegal export schemes. "

[MizKringle]

I was thinking about the pearl comparison since pearls are organic just as amber is organic, but I think amber is different because it is formed as a result of geological processes. I think that may be why some refer to it as a stone and others refer to it as a gemstone.

I would be surprised if Judith's amber was compressed. If it was, I would be very disappointed. That is a specific manufacturing process that should be disclosed to buyers. As for the doublets, coated stones and synthetics - while in some cases it is due to financial reasons to get the item at a specific price point, in many cases I think it is for aesthetic reasons to attain a specific color or effect. For me, doublets have a place in a jewelry collection, albeit limited. I tend to prefer my gemstones as natural as possible, but sometimes you can get a dreamy quality from a doublet that you can't get in any other way.

I did not realize that there is an amber mafia, but I can't say I'm surprised. The black market economy was so strong for decades in that part of the world that old habits die hard. And then of course there is greed. It saddens me to hear it, though. Maybe that is why Jay King has been saying that amber prices have been going through the roof for a while now.

[Kachina624]

I think the TV program "Gem Hunters" has made it obvious that there is Mafia-like activity, greed and corruption in most of the gem markets around the world. It would scare me to death to go to some of those places.