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History of Amber Age of amber is 35140 million years: even primitive people extracted and used it. It has been an object of exchange, trade, crafts, raw material for the production of jewellery and amulets. Later, pharaohs and priests of Egypt wore amber jewellery: the crown of King Tutankhamen has been decorated therewith. 3
The ancient Greeks fitted out ships to bring amber. It is mentioned in The Odyssey by Homer. According to Pliny (the Roman author of Natural History, 1 century AD), a small figure made of amber was worth more than a healthy slave. Rich Romans always carried amber balls on them, rubbed with their hands, knowing that amber increases strength.
History of Amber
In China and Japan, amber of cherry colour reminiscent of the dragon blood has been especially esteemed; it has been worn in the imperial family. Transparent yellow with a greenish tint and milkywhite cloudy amber has been also highly rated in the East. Amber is found of different shapes and sizes in nature: from fractions of grams to several kilograms. Scientific research revealed over 3,000 species of insects (beetles, spiders, ants, forest flies, dipterous insects, and even small animals, such as lizards, frogs, etc.) and more than 200 species of plants in the “amber traps�.
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Location of Amber For a long time, amber was laying under feet as initially it has been found right at the beginning of the surfing edge in the form of stone pieces on the seashore. Amber floating to the surface of water with algae was firstly taken out of the water with dip nets. Thereafter, people began to go further to sea in boats in a search of amber. They began to use it to produce jewellery, handcrafted items.
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Location of Amber
In production quantities, amber is mined in open pits in the layer of “blue earth� at a depth of 10 meters. Amber is mined by an open-pit method from a depth of 12 to 50 meters, and of 5-12 meters in Ukraine. All extracted raw material is divided into three classes: ornamental (semi-precious), moulding amber and varnish.
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Physical Properties of Amber
Amber palette contains all colours of the rainbow, from milk to brown.
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Real amber is extracted in Russia, Ukraine and on the North Sea coast. The others, which are found in different fields, called either after the location or with a special name, are plainly amber-like resins.
Physical Properties of Amber
The true beauty of amber is revealed after polishing. Amber is fragile, easily broken by an impact or at a fall, but at the same time, is flexible. This is its very valuable quality, thanks to which the stone is kind to dressing.
Amber can be sawn, cut, drilled, dressed, and polished. It becomes softened and then melts when heated. This property is used in the hardening and pressing.
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