Glittering Stones >> Semi Precious Stones >> Amber

Semi Precious Stone Amber

Amber is a fossil resin normally used for the manufacture of ornamental objects. Although not much mineralized it is sometimes considered and used as a gemstone. The name had comes from the Arabic amber, probably through the Spanish also, but this word referred originally to ambergris, which is an animal substance quite distinct from the yellow amber. True amber had been sometimes called as Kara be, a word of oriental derivation signifying "that which attracts straw", in allusion to the power which amber possesses of the acquiring an electric charge by friction. This property, first recorded by Thales of Miletus, and then suggested the word "electricity", from the Greek, elektron, a name applied; however, it is not only to amber but also to an alloy of gold and silver. By Latin writer’s amber is variously known as electrum, Socinus (Socinus), and gleesome or gleesome. The Old Hebrew hashmal seems to have meant amber, although Modern Hebrew uses Arabic-inspired i'nbar.

Historical Facts of Amber

Range: 30–90 million years old
Chemical composition: Heterogeneous in composition
Nature: Soft and sticky
Types: Baltic amber, Blue amber, Delatynite, Dominican amber, Oltu stone
Color: Yellow-orange, pale lemon yellow, brown, black, red, green, blue amber
Ocuurence: Eastern Asia, Switzerland, Austria and France, United States, Ellsworth County, Kansas

Gem Jewelry Amber