Enchanted by Amber Gems

People have been enthralled by jewellery since time immemorial. Ancient kings and queens were distinguished by the precious items adorning their bodies. For ages, people already knew the value of certain stones, metals, and fossils.

Gemstones are classified in various ways, and one of the classifications is determining whether the gem is a crystalline or amorphous material. A gem is generally a piece of attractive mineral that is cut, polished, and used in jewellery such as engagement rings and other ornaments like tribal necklaces. Nevertheless, some materials are not crystalline but are still considered as gem, and one of them is amber.
Amber is an amorphous gem, which is formed from a fossil tree resin millions years ago. It normally contains insects and small vertebrates known as “inclusion” because it originates as a soft, sticky tree resin. A semi-fossilised resin or sub-fossil amber is also called copal. Now, the kind and size of “trapped” living thing in an amber gem make it truly unique and valuable. Unlike most gems, which are valued according to their colour, clarity, or cut, amber is graded based on its size, beauty, and inclusion or the SBI system. Naturally, large amber with an exceptional beauty (shape, colour, arrangement) and rare inclusions are priced more.

Amber is highly admired for its natural beauty. However, the gem does not only come in its common yellow-orange-brown shade. There are amber gems that lends a spectrum of colours, including white, pale lemon yellow, brown, almost black, red, green, and blue. Red amber is also called cherry amber, while blue amber is one of the rarest and most pricy. Transparent amber can demand a hefty price tag as opposed to cloudy, opaque, or bony amber.