Amber- fake or real ? (Part 3) January 26, 2021

Amber- fake or real ? (Part 3) January 26, 2021

There are numerous Amber-looking materials around

Glass- is hard, cold, does nor scratch with metal and is fire-proof

Synthetic Resin- has particular man-made shape, often heavier than Amber and has smell of
  plastic when heated /test it by the hot needle /

Celluloid- Lightly heavier, and has again this nasty plastic smell when tested with hot needle

   Generally this smell is unavoidable when plastic /all above types, polystyrene, polyester/is
  burned!

   Rub the stone for few minutes using some pressure, if it not synthetic , it should emit light
  balsamic smell of a pine tree.

Copal- the natural material, made from tree resin, with very similar look but not the same
  characteristics and price. it’s not nearly as old as amber.

    It is much younger, first of all. While Natural Baltic Amber id 35-45 mln years old, the age
   of Copal is slightly older, than one million years.  So Copal is much softer because it hasn't
   had enough time to fossilize. It does not have Amber quality to use it in jewelry.