Amber is a fossil, and is not to be classed amongst minerals, but this
material has always been used as an ornament, and a few notes will not
be out of place here.
This vegetable fossil, which has been known to the world for ages, the
Greeks called electron.
It is very light, having a specific gravity of 1.065 to 1.08, and is 2
to 2.5 in hardness.
The principal color is yellow, in various shades, sometimes running
into white or reddish-brown and black.
Amber is transparent to translucent, possesses single refraction, a
resinous lustre to a high degree, becomes electric by rubbing, and
burns readily before the blow-pipe.
Amber when heated becomes soft and pliable.
Amber is composed of:
Carbon 79.
Hydrogen 10.5
Oxygen 10.5
Amber is imitated by gum copal, and even the insect enclosures which
occur in real amber are copied.
These imitations can be detected by placing the specimen in water or
alcohol. This is also a good test for pieces of real amber that have
been melted or glued together.
Amber is thrown up by the sea, in rivers near the sea, or on the
sea-shore, and has been found in nearly all parts of the world.
The Russian, Baltic, and Sicilian coasts have yielded the larger
portion of the production, but supplies come also from Galizia, the
Urals, Poland, China, and the United States.
For ornamental purposes the faceted amber beads are largely used, but
of late years these have been closely imitated in glass.