Home >> Science & Nature >> Rocks & Minerals

How to Identify a Large Stone With Amber

Amber is an yellow-orange hardened resin of the pine tree. Genuine amber sold by reputable jewelers is usually millions of years old. Amber is somewhat difficult to distinguish from another tree resin, copal, which is substantially less valuable than amber because the largest supplies of it carbon test at less than 500 year old. Amber is also at times difficult to distinguish from artfully simulated amber, which is simply orange-yellow epoxy or plastic. However, genuine amber bears the fingerprints of its origin and it reacts very specifically in certain testing situations. Armed with this knowledge, the novice amber purchaser is protected from unscrupulous sellers and inferior or imitation product.

Things You'll Need

Alcohol
Lighter
Needle
Salt water
Soft cloth

Instructions

- 1
  Examine the amber piece with the naked eye. Genuine amber has air bubbles trapped deep in the resin, and sometimes water droplets and tiny insects. Copal may possess some of these same indicators, but over time the surface of copal presents a matrix of tiny cracks. Plastic, if examined closely, shows uniform striated marks from the synthetic manufacturing process; any air or water bubbles or frozen insects trapped in plastic present a more uniform and predictable pattern than those occurring in nature.
- 2
  Place a drop of alcohol on the surface of the amber piece. Touch that place on the stone and note whether the surface remains smooth, indicating genuine amber, or whether it becomes tacky or sticky, indicating copal.
- 3
  Apply a small flame to the surface of the amber piece and sniff the air. After the amber heats for just a few seconds it releases a smoky odor. Copal's aroma when heated is somewhat sweet. Plastic, when heated, often smells toxic.
- 4
  Heat a needle in flame and try to insert it in to the amber piece. Note whether the needle melts easily into the piece, indicating copal; whether the stone resists heating and melting, indicating genuine amber; or whether the piece chars and burns, indicating plastic.
- 5
  Differentiate amber or copal from even the most artfully crafted plastic by dropping the samples in salt water. Both amber and copal float due to a low specific gravity. Plastic sinks.
- 6
  Hold the samples under a short-range, ultra-violet light and note whether the amber piece changes color. Neither copal nor plastic present much color change, while genuine amber appears blue.
- 7
  Buff the surface of the amber piece quickly for about 15 seconds. Genuine amber charges with static electricity and picks up small bits of paper. Neither copal nor plastic present this characteristic.

Rocks & Minerals