amber-msg - 7/14/19

Period use of amber. Types of amber and suggestions on buying it.

NOTE: See also the files: amber-buying-art, jewelry-msg, Norse-msg, V-Arts-and-A-art, gem-sources-msg, pearls-msg.

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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: rlobinske at aol.com (RLobinske)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Amber
Date: 30 Jan 1999 12:16:49 GMT

>Does any one know of a period means to 'make' amber?  Or for that matter any
>way to make fake amber?
>
>Lady Beatrice
>ladybea at kdnetmail.com

Since amber is fossilzed tree sap, you can't "make" it.  Otherwise, it was cut
and polished like other stones (though a bit more carefully because of its
softness).  However, it can be melted and some suppliers will melt down scrap
amber into larger pieces and reshape, reputable dealers will tell you this.

Amber is not an expensive stone, the most expensive cabochon in the Rio Grande
catalog (http://wwwriogrande.com) is $10.80 for a 18 x 13 mm stone. 

Victor Hildebrand vonn Koln
Trimaris 

From: miladysca at aol.comDRAGON (MiladySCA)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Amber
Date: 30 Jan 1999 13:52:44 GMT

Amber is not an expensive stone, the most expensive cabochon in the Rio Grande
catalog (http://wwwriogrande.com) is $10.80 for a 18 x 13 mm stone. 

Victor Hildebrand vonn Koln
Trimaris 
-----
The expense depends on numerous factors, such as color (dark red is the most
costly ...), whether or not the material has been heated (which makes it an
ivory color), and the amount of material (obviously).  I've seen necklaces in
the range of $1000.

Interestingly enough, in the area where I live (SF Bay Area), Chinatown is a
marvelous source for amber.  I'm planning a return trip to pick up some
incredibly beautiful *green* amber earrings.

Fiona de Bousis
Kingdom of the West (Mists)

From: david.razler at worldnet.att.net (David M. Razler)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Amber
Date: 30 Jan 1999 14:48:44 GMT

| Does any one know of a period means to 'make' amber?  Or for that matter any
| way to make fake amber?
| 
| Lady Beatrice
| ladybea at kdnetmail.com

Lots of things:

1 - complete faux amber - made from one or another thermoplastics or resins
and passed off as the real thing by bad dealers and artificial by the honest
ones.

2 - reconstituted or "recon" amber - a mixture of n percent real amber (often
very low) and n percent modern resins - extends and adds profits, as far as
bad dealers are concerned. Any dealer claiming that his/her recon is 100%
amber should be whacked over the head with it, IMHO

3 - addition of inclusions - since a silly movie involving dinosaur DNA and
mosquitos in amber came out, the price of amber trapping natural objects has
increased tremendously - so has the desire of some to heat the amber and add
modern ones, oft times with some modern resin as well. I saw a lovely amber in
pewter (sometimes billed as "silver) art nuveau piece over and over again at
last Pennsic and at many a jeweler featuring a large cab of "genuine amber"
including what looked suspiciously like included clear sequins to increase the
flash.

etc.

david/Aleksandr
David M. Razler
david.razler at worldnet.att.net

From: sigen3 at aol.comnojunk (Sigen 3)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Amber
Date: 31 Jan 1999 06:15:00 GMT

>I find that hard to believe, since heat-treated amber changes color, taking
>on the appearance and texture of ivory.

I own many pieces of heat treated amber
that have retained their original color.
I have pieces that are red, green, butter
lemon, cognac, etc...  You can tell that
a piece has been heat treated many ways.
Shape, size and shape of air bubbles,
"spangles"  etc...

Not all heat treated amber will change
colors.  I have become quite adept at 
over the years at identifying natural, 
heat treated, re-constituted, resin mixes,
and just plain fakes.  

Many of the bracelets and pendants sold
by merchants are indeed heat treated, and
do retain the original color.  This is done
by placing the nuggets in a mold, and gently
heating them to the melting point.  

Amber comes in an amazing variety
of colors, and I wonder if what you
are seeing isn't a natural color that
happens to have been heated?

Sigen Fridreksdottir
the "amber baroness"
Northkeep
Ansteorra 

Date: Mon, 08 Feb 1999 16:44:04 -0500
From: capriest at cs.vassar.edu (Carolyn Priest-Dorman)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Melting Amber

Diarmaid wrote:
>>  while I can't find any way so far to melt amber

Heat it in oil is the method I seem to recall.  This was something I read
about eight years back; I think it was in this book.

     _Catalogue of the carved amber in the Department
     of Greek and Roman Antiquities_, by D.E. Strong
     (London:  British Museum, 1966).

Mainly what I remember is that in antiquity amber was boiled in olive oil
(which, I think I remember, had the additional effect of clarifying it)
until it was quite plastic, then pressed into moulds.

Carolyn Priest-Dorman                 Thora Sharptooth
capriest at cs.vassar.edu                Frostahlid, Austrriki

Date: Mon, 08 Feb 1999 21:58:06 -0600
From: Stephanie Howe <olga at icon-stl.net>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Melting Amber

You might want to check the reference for amber in Ralph Mayer's "The
Artist's Handbook".

"Amber varnish has a traditional reputation as the varnish par
excellence, but it is doubtful whether any such product was ever in very
wide use.  Amber is an extremely insoluble and intractable substance
and, as all varnish makers know, most of the old recipes calling for it
are unworkable, being either versions garbled through much copying or
deliberate frauds."  The entry goes on to discuss various theories,
including confusing the resin sandarac for amber, or "amber" being used
as a descriptive for whatever hard, transparent resin happened to be in
hand by the medieval writers.  *Way* useful book- if you don't own it,
you should!  ;)

Olga

Date: Tue, 09 Feb 1999 01:10:05 -0600
From: Gunnora Hallakarva <gunnora at bga.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Melting Amber

When I get home tonight, I will check my copy of Patty Rice's "Amber, Golden
Gem of the Ages" which is sort of like the Amber Bible.

Master Ulf Gunnarsson of Ansteorra did a project in which he made actual amber
varnish.  Diarmuid, I would consult with Ulf -- if it wasn't him, it was
someone up in Oklaholma, and I'd bet that either Ulf or Tarl or Stacia will 
know who.

My memory of my readings indicated that amber was powdered, then heated in oil.  
I'd use something dense, like linseed oil, perhaps cut with some turpentine.
There are several medieval varnish recipes that use amber -- I know I've seen 
them, I just am not sure where.

Let me check Patty Rice and I'll report back.

::GUNNORA::

Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 02:15:52 -0500
From: Melanie Wilson <MelanieWilson at compuserve.com>
To: "INTERNET:sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu" <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Melting amber

>Would alcohol melt amber?  I keep thinking that a solvent, rather than
>heat, is needed.

As it is one of the tests for detecting real from fake Amber I would guess
not!

If the surface of your 'amber' has gone soft Marc it is probably copal not
amber. Compressed pieces of amber  put in alcohol will show their join
lines. But amber is not affected by alcohol or benzole. Sorry to be the
bearer of bad news . See various tankards etc made of amber particularly
16th C

Mel

[Sent to the Florilegium by: "Alderton, Philippa" <phlip at morganco.net>]
From: aland <aland62 at FRONTIERNET.NET>
To: SCA-UNIVERSITAS at LIST.UVM.EDU <SCA-UNIVERSITAS at LIST.UVM.EDU>
Date: Monday, July 05, 1999 1:27 AM
Subject: [SCA-U] RE. amber

   It is difficult with a dremel to drill holes in amber.  It is just too
fast.  Amber does not respond well to heat.  You can get a hand drill
Handle from jewelry suppliers such as Statchura's or most likely from Rio Grande. You will be able to get a hole through the amber with a dremel... however it will be mostly melted through and not cut.  the difference is in one case it will be a very noticeable line through the amber ( from the melting)  and the other is cut through and less noticeable.

    Like wise if you are attempting to carve the amber avoid the dremel as
it will cause heat that will lead to "crazing"  or cracks going through it.
And trust me when I say it is very disappointing to have spent time on a
great piece and then have heat crazing happen.  For carving get a good set
of files also available from a jewelry supply store.  a jewelers saw and jig
work well for cutting out the base shapes, be warned that although x-acto is
the most commonly found it is a horrid saw.

    Most of the dremel attachments will fit the hand drill handle ( this is not a crank type- it is basically a mounted chuck.)  although I doubt that you will find them useful.

    Woodworkers warehouse (the chain store) carries a wonderful set of drill bits that are truly tiny.  The best for drilling small holes in amber! do not try them on anything harder- but you will be very pleased with the way they cut amber.  do not use the finest of them as the amber will again damage them... but they all will work well with bone.

    a word of caution on amber,  it is rather brittle.  if you do not keep
your drill steady it will be likely to shatter.  It is however on of the
easiest substances to carve you will likely ever find.  It is also readily
available in raw form and is relatively cheap.

    If your amber is not as clear as you would like it, it can be rendered
down and strained to remove the horrid little bits of bark etc.  I use a
wire mesh and a small rubber mold to create little blocks about 1" square by
1/2" .  it has a fairly fast set rate but should not be handled for at least
24 hours.   Rendering is best done with quantities of at least an ounce. if
you go for more than 8 ounces you will likely get scorching.   It also has a
fairly low melt temp and an almost equally low burn temp.   Like wise one could place an object into the amber (it is done all the time- most insects are now put into amber.) be warned that currently so many of the wholesalers are adding bugs and such that it is more likely that they are added inclusions and not natural inclusions (saw one ad in  Lapidary Journal for a piece with a minnow in
it!  As if fish were climbing trees a million years ago!)

    Save your cuttings and drillings and there you have your incense. or you
can render them for more carving material :)

Hope this helps...

K. Roberts

From: Krista Wohlfeil <Krista.Wohlfeil at PictureIQ.com>
To: "'stefan at florilegium.org'" <stefan at florilegium.org>
Subject: amber
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 15:26:24 -0800 

   There are several tests for determining if a piece is real amber or not.
Unfortunately they all involve causing some sort of damage to the stone.
Amber will dissove, albiet slowly, in alcohol.  For this reason you should
avoid using hair spray, gel or perfumes after putting on any jewlery.  It
can damage the surface of the piece leaving it dull.  You can also take a
scraping and burn it.  If it has a pine or pitch smell it's amber, if it has
a burnt plastic smell, well, it's plastic.  When looking at inclusions be
careful to look at the amber around the inclusion, especially if it's an
insect.  Unless the insect (or other critter) was killed instantly, the
material around the bug should be stirred up because of the critter
struggling to extract itself.  There may also be signs such as wings and
legs being torn and "trails" where the insect did manage to move a little
way prior to dieing.  Be wary of pieces that have "perfect" bugs.  These
will be in clear "amber" most likely, with all body parts in tact, and the
legs all laying in the same direction or in the typical rigor pose of a dead
bug (curled up).  There are some great fakes where the "artist" actually let
a bug wiggle around before finally smothering it in the epoxy resin (very
convincing, but somewhat akin to pulling the wings off a fly).  Real amber
with dirt, bark and other vegatable material will typically show a slight
haze around the material where it rotted before hardening.  It will also
typically show some sort of flow pattern around it.  This will not always be
visible to the naked eye.  The "spangles" seen in many pieces of amber are
from water droplets being caught in the material.  While it can look rather
flashy and fake, it is indeed a real inclusion.  Unfortunately thay can also
weaken a piece.  Look for square edges deep in the piece.  This can occurr
in natural amber, but it is more likely a sign of reconstituted amber.  It's
still "real" but has been made of chunks of smaller pieces.  Depending on
how much of a purist you are, this could be a good or bad thing.
Personally, I have seen some recon pieces that are beautiful.  If you're
serious about your amber, I suggest buying a jewlers loupe.  They're
relatively inexpensive (from $10 to $20 each) and can help spot some of the
more subtle tell-tails.  I've also found that pulling out a loupe at a less
than reputable shop can make a less than honest dealer find their conscious.

   Amber varnish can still be bought today. The best places to find it are
in violin repair and materials shops or at high priced artists supply
stores.  It's expensive, but beautiful, and worth every penny considering
the time it takes to make it.  I have had a chance to work with it on wood.
If you ever seen a well done shellac, think of that, but deeper and less
"waxy" looking.  The color can be dependant on the type of oil used
(typically walnut or linseed, sometimes cut with turpentine, mineral
spirits, or olive oil. Soem recipies also talk about usign lavender oil.)
and the color grade of amber.  It's also harder and more resiliant than
shellac.  Other resins such as copal and dragon's blood can be used with the
amber varnish to enhance the color. This site
http://www.mauigateway.com/~donjusko/paint1881.htm has a laundry list of
paint and varnish formulas which include several different variations on the
amber varnish.  The big thing to remember with the processes used in the
middle ages and Renaissance periods was that they used heat, something
rarely done today with the availability of factory made cold process oil
paint.  I doubt amber varnish can be made using cold process.  Also, if you
choose to attempt to make your own amber varnish you need to be extremely
careful as many of the materials can be highly volitile when heated.

   Not only does amber have the congac, honey, ivory, green, red and blacks
(deep red) but there is also blue.  This, of all the amber colors, is the
most rare, and in my opinion, the most beautiful.  If you ever come across a
blue piece that's marked at what could be considered a reasonable ammount
it's probably a fake.  They tend to be smaller pieces, running in the
hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.  Greens can be heated to blue, but
it is a very difficult process to do without destroying the overall
integrity of the piece.  As has been itterated before, any good dealer will
tell you if a piece has been altered (beyond carving) or not.

Krista Wohlfeil
Kushala of the Highland Korsairs
Kingdom of An Tir

From the FB "Society For Creative Anachronism" group:
Brian Engler
7/27/15
Container carved from a single piece of amber. Hunt Museum, Leinster, Ireland.

From the fb "SCA Metalworking and Jewelers" group:

Stacy K Davis
September 17 at 4:20pm
I don't know where else to ask.
I have a couple of amber rings, and they have been stored in a silk pouch with some other gemstone rings. 
When I went to wear one of the amber rings the other day, I found the stone covered in a weird gunk. Nothing else in the pouch is affected, only the green amber stone. It feels like a coating that is solid and rough-texture, which changes the look of the stone. 
So far, I've gently cleaned it with a damp rag, then with a soapy rag. No change. I'm scared to ruin it, but it is not wearable the way it is. 
I do not have a dremel tool or buffing wheel, nor do I own buffing compound (although I suppose I could get some.) I do have an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner machine.
Help ?!?

Gerald Loosehelm 
That is mold. 99% sure.
September 17 at 4:25pm

Jeannie Berry Harwell 
NO ULTRASONIC! You will ruin it.

Scrub what you can off. Then a gentle DIY for getting out mild scratches is wet suede leather and cigarette ash combined with elbow grease. That might help. As with anything, test a small area first.

If that green stuff is hard dried particulate, keep rinsing as you polish or you can wind up adding scratches.

Gerald Loosehelm 
All you can do is clean it with a bit of bleach and then let it dry. If the surface is messed up, then sand with a very fine sandpaper. about 1000 grit to start. then 1200, then 1500. If you have a friend who has a buffer, use a new buff (4 inches max), with a small amount of crystal polish (for plastic watch crystals) to finish it up.
September 17 at 4:32pm

Gerald Loosehelm 
I am not sure if the amber itself mildewed or if there might have been some treatment on the surface that mildewed.
September 17 at 4:34pm

Stacy K Davis 
I'm thinking there was a surface treatment. It's really gross.

Cairenn Day 
Clean it off, find a scrap of soft, like suede leather and apply some toothpaste to it and wet it. This sounds a little gross, but saliva will work better than water (it doesn't seem to evaporate as quickly) and rub and rub and rub. You can get a fairly decent polish back that way. You might try it with some felt if you don't have any leather.

Amber can mildew. My stock did once! When it had gotten wet at a show and I didn't unpack it and wash it when I got home.
September 17 at 4:43pm

Stacy K Davis 
Hey, I spin flax with spit, and I spit-join my naalbinding. It's not gross, it's using what you have !
September 17 at 4:52pm

Stacy K Davis 
Yes, I should have said that I have my amber rings in with some gemstone rings. Only the one amber ring was affected - the other amber ring, and the gemstone rings were not affected. I *do* know that amber is petrified sap. I also have pearl, coral and jet jewelry, which are not technically gemstones, but which most people treat (market) as gemstones.

Catherine Iannuzzo 
pumice powder. Spit on your fingers, pick up some powder, and rub it on whatever you need to polish.

Susan Johnson Hill McMahill 
Also, if you wear Amber rings, take them off before using hand sanitizer! It can permanently damage the stone.

Joan Bahur 
Had some amber beads that came in contact with the mosquito repellant I was wearing. It made them soft and opaque. After washing them off, I left them to sit for several days and they finally reverted to their original state.

Gerald Loosehelm Amber is what is called an "Organic Gem". It is the sap of a extinct species of tree. When new, it will be just like the sticky sap that comes out of a injury on a pine tree. Exact same stuff. But after a few thousand years, the VOC's (volatile organic compounds) evaporate and you are left with the hardened sap.

The older the amber, the clearer it is as a general rule. 
Most amber on the world market is dug up and processed now in factories. It is muddy, dirty clumps so it is heated and cleaned to remove all of the dirt. Then it is melted and formed into rods and sheets that are then made into gems.
Some warnings!.

If you see a "real" piece of amber with an animal or insect in it and the animal or bug is intact or mostly so, it is a fake. The amber might be real, or not, but finding large intact creatures that just happen to be positioned perfectly so a standard gem can be cut, is about as rare as an honest politician. Chances are their is one out there, but you will probably never meet them!

Also, Amber is extremely easy to fake. It is a resin. Mix up some epoxy and add some pine tar and you will have a hard time telling the difference.

Plastic is a very common replacement for amber. So if you are buying amber, make sure you know the dealer. And if you get offered a deal that is too good to be true, trust me, it is.

Heat treating is the most common modification to natural amber pieces. If you have a piece that has some bubbles or cloudiness, heat treatment will clear it quite nicely. And it leaves "Sun Spangles" when the little bits of moisture trapped in the amber turn to steam and cause small localized fracturing. I have been told by several people that sun spangles can occur naturally but I have yet to see an untreated piece of amber that has these. Sun spangles are generally considered proof the amber has been heat treated.
September 18 at 11:04am

From the fb "SCA Garb" group:
Penny Thr 
Apparently real amber fluoresce under ultraviolet light and show glow blue

Em Gaudete 
This. This is the best, cheapest, and easiest answer.

A lot of amber that is sold is actually copal, which is made of the same material but has not been in the ground as long, basically.

Em Gaudete 
(The color can shift from greenish to bluish depending on the shade of the amber itself, but basically: real amber glows. Copal does not.)

Kat McCridhe 
Two ways, used together, was how I was taught: First is floating it. If it floats, it is either amber or plastic. The second is buffing it until warm on a piece of wool and sniffing it- amber will smell like nature.

Kasia Gromek 
Beware of the composite amber. It is made from leftover pieces and dust of real amber and will behave like the real stuff. Light, burns, smells like burn resin. My home town is a capital of amber and only the most experienced artisans are able to distinguish between the real and composite stuff and even this requires specialized equipment. Amber set in the early 20th century is probably the real one

Alice Keightley 
If you heat a paperclip plasic will melt and amber will give that lovely sap smell

Alex Nicholé Burns 
Scratch it on a piece of paper and there should be a slight scent of... amber... too it. Kind of just a tree scent

I should say rub it on a paper, it won’t actually scratch

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