Amber – the Sea Stone.

Amber is so intriguing as it is one of the few gemstones that is organic and formed from the fossilized resin of ancient pine trees.  Over millions of years, this sticky resin went through a number of changes with the resulting metamorphosis giving its extraordinary properties

But as the resin oozed from the tree it covered everything in its path including leaves, insects or small creatures. We managed to photograph a little insect or part of one in one of our current amber pendants to illustrate.

Amber sometimes called Sea Stone is uniquely buoyant and floats in seawater so if you are out beach walking you may be lucky enough to find some.   Norfolk beaches are worth a look particularly after a winter storm and this amber found here is similar to that from the Baltic probably transported towards Britain from southern Scandinavia during the ice age.

However, the majority of amber is found along the shores of the Baltic Sea in places like Poland, Russia and Lithuania. We have for a number of years bought directly from a small independent Polish supplier and we eagerly look forward to seeing Piotr and all his unique and wonderful designs

Due to its softness, amber is great for jewellery designers to work with as it is ideal for carving and shaping cabochons.

Piotr uses the golden hues of amber with rich yellow, orange red and green colours. This transparent gem always works beautifully in current jewellery designs. The multi coloured pieces are striking as well as the odd cute carved bear figures.

Amber has long been admired for its captivating colour and natural beauty with the earliest worked examples dating back as far as 11,000 and 9,00BC. To the Phoenicians Amber was a prime commodity whereas the Etruscans used it for making jewellery.

It was during the Art Nouveau period of the early 20^th century that amber started to be enjoyed for its decorative effect rather than for its intrinsic value. Later on in the 1950’s a bright bead craze including ropes of amber brought the stone back in the fashion spotlight.

Moving along to 1993 the film Jurassic Park – the story unfolds where scientists created an island full of dinosaurs by extracting their DNA from a mosquito trapped in a piece of amber. It was a fantastic film which resulted to an increased awareness and demand for amber jewellery which remains unabated helped by release of the now seventh film in the dinosaur series.

Amber’s golden transparency lends it a quality which even diamonds do not share, it remains magical, mystical and like honey – a gift from the gods…..

Sally x