Real natural amber pictures

Amber is a fossil of coniferous tree resin millions of years ago. It is amorphous, transparent and the lightest type of known crystal. There are various shapes such as tuberculosis, tumor, droplet, etc., and the surface has tree ring layers or radioactive material patterns of flowers and trees. Real amber has the functions of calming nerves and helping sleep, so how to identify natural amber?

Method/Process

1. Assessment method:

1. Ratio detection: The relative density of amber platinum is between 1.05-1.10. Therefore, in a 1:4 salt water solution, the genuine product will move up and the counterfeit product will move down (without other materials for inlay).

2. Needle burn test: Heat the needle to bright red, burn the outer skin of the amber, and it will also have a pine scent and be black in color. The plastic will partially melt and stick to the needle tube.

3. Alcohol test: You can use nail polish remover to test its surface. Real amber will not react at all, but epoxy will corrode.

4. Sound test: If you gently rub the unset amber platinum beads in your hand, a very gentle and slightly low sound will be heard. If it is made of plastic or epoxy resin, the sound will be crisper.

2Differences from similar epoxy resins

The epoxies most similar to succinate are hard epoxies and rosin.

1. Hard epoxy resin is a geologically new semi-fossil epoxy resin with a similar composition to amber platinum. Drop a small drop of medical ether on the surface of hard epoxy resin and rub it vigorously. The hard epoxy resin will become soft and sticky, while amber platinum will not change at all.

2. Rosin is an epoxy resin that has not been geologically acted on. It is light yellow, opaque, light and not very strong. It can be kneaded into powder with force. There are many oil droplet-shaped bubbles on its surface. The surface of lake water is smooth and transparent, and it contains a lot of substances. The animal and plant capsules and patterns inside the amber can be seen with the naked eye.

3Differences from Reshape Amber

Some small lake debris that cannot be used directly to make jewelry are calcined under appropriate temperature and pressure to produce large amber, which is called reconstituted amber. The color of reconstructed amber is authentic, the clarity is high, the surface is rough, and when observed under a larger scale, it has a granular structure, a syrup-like stirring structure, and sometimes contains unmelted matter; while the surface of natural amber is smooth, contains bubbles, which are mostly round, and generally contain animal and plant debris.

4Differences from imitations

Imitations of amber platinum include plastic, laminated glass and water jade.

1. Plastics Plastics are very similar to amber in color, warmth and electrical properties, but their relative density is quite different from amber.

Among the plastics, except polyethylene which floats in saturated salt water, all others move downward because their relative density is higher than that of saturated salt water (1.2) and the relative density of amber is 1.08, so it can float in saturated salt water.

The plastic is cuttable. When a knife is used to cut one side of the sample, a piece falls off. However, the water, with its ductility, forms a small shell-shaped hole.

When using a hot needle, plastic also has various odors, while amber can emit the smell of rosin.

2. Laminated glass and water jade

Laminated glass and water jade can imitate amber in color, but their properties are quite different from amber. They are much heavier than amber and have a cool feel, which can be distinguished by weighing them. In addition, laminated glass and water jade cannot be moved by hot needles.