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How to Identify Fake Amber Worry Beads

Fingering a strand of worry beads may help with prayer or stress relief. Amber, fossilized resin from ancient trees, is a popular choice for prayer beads because of its warm brown and red tones, and its association with healing. When buying worry beads, beware of fake amber. Tests help determine whether you have amber formed millions of years ago or a substitute made last year.

Things You'll Need

Needle
Eyedropper
Acetone
Liquid dish soap
Water
Soft cloth
Small pieces of tissue
2 tablespoons of salt
1 cup warm water

Instructions

- 1
  Scratch one of the beads with your fingernail. If you make a mark, it's not amber.
- 2
  Heat a needle point in a flame until it is red-hot. Touch the heated tip to the bead. If the material melts quickly and gives off a plastic odor, you probably have a piece of plastic or copal.
- 3
  Use an eyedropper to place a drop of acetone on a bead. Allow it to dry, then repeat. Melting on the surface or a tacky surface is indicative of copal or plastic.
- 4
  Perform a taste test. Wash the bead in soapy water and rinse. Run your tongue over the surface. Amber and copal are tasteless; plastic or other synthetic substances have a chemical taste.
- 5
  Rub the bead briskly with a soft cloth to create heat. Hold the bead over some small pieces of tissue. Friction between the cloth and amber creates static electricity and attracts the tissue.
- 6
  Rub the bead again with the cloth until it is warm and smell it. A chemical or plastic smell indicates the bead is a fake.
- 7
  Test the bead's ability to float. Dissolve two tablespoons of table salt in a cup of warm water. Add the bead. Amber does not sink.

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