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Comments

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  Ethnic Embellishments June 26, 2011 at 7:03pm

  I would think Baltic.
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  Stefany Tomalin June 27, 2011 at 9:13am

  the amber is most likely Baltic but that doesnt help tell us where the necklace was made...

  a scale would help to appreciate the dimensions.
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  Joost Daalder June 29, 2011 at 2:53pm

  Ayis, Truus and I have no doubt at all that all of these pieces are Baltic in origin, and it is also very clear that they have been in use as beads for a very, very long time. They are clearly pieces gathered from necklaces that are very old, but it is, we think, actually impossible to say who put this together, and where. The string used could come from anywhere, and the pieces of amber are such a mixture, that it would be a brave person who would be able to say "This was definitely done in country X". The bead at the front, with its ring, for example, is some sort of pendant, and as such quite different from the majority, which look more like beads worn in many countries, including even European ones. However, there is no doubt that these are ancient beads made of good quality Baltic amber, with a pleasing variety of colours and shapes. I would not be particularly worried about who put the ensemble together, as they are such very good pieces.
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  Alaa eddine SAGID June 29, 2011 at 10:59pm

  i must confess that i know exactely where i bought them, but i wanted to have the expertise of some of the knowledgeble members and not tu lure them with the location i found this!

   

  i bought them a time ago in Mandalay in Myanmar and i was astonished to find amber wich reminded me of baltic that far away !!

   

  So anyone knows of how far baltic amber traveled during time?

   

  thanx to ya all
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  Joost Daalder June 29, 2011 at 11:40pm

  Ayis, - The Baltic area is the main area in the world where amber has been found, and it has always been valued world wide. There is a widespread misperception that such a thing as "African amber" exists. It does not: Africa only produces so-called copal resin: that IS a resin of the same kind, but it is "fresh" and young and was not formed thousands of years ago as Baltic amber was. There is also a good (early) orange-coloured Burmese amber. HOWEVER: THIS PIECE, THOUGH YOU BOUGHT IT IN MANDALAY, IS DEFINITELY BALTIC - THAT CAN BE JUDGED FROM THE COLOURS AND THE CONSTRUCTION, INTERNALLY, OF THE MATERIAL. As for the distribution of Baltic amber: that is worldwide, and has been for many, many centuries. It is the most commonly found amber all over the world, simply because the deposits there have been so vast, and originally is was found floating on the surface of the Baltic sea.
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  Toya June 29, 2011 at 11:54pm

  I am going to post some pictures of Burmese amber.
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  Stefany Tomalin June 30, 2011 at 12:02am

   <http://www.maggiecp.co.uk/free_organic_gems-magazine/cherry_amber.h...;

  yes, at this link you will learn a lot more about "Burmite" which is amber from Myanmar.
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  Ethnic Embellishments June 30, 2011 at 1:21am

  I think that there should be further differentiation between African and New World copal.   Amber (and copal) is far older than just a few thousand years old.  Copal from Meso and South America is the youngest, African copal (called amber in the jewelry industry) is middle-aged, and Baltic Amber is the oldest.
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  Joost Daalder June 30, 2011 at 3:32am

  Hillary, - You are quite right. I did not mean to imply, in speaking of "thousands of years ago", that that means just a few thousand, nor that there is no copal found outside Africa. But it is a good thing to have these matters more clearly and fully set forth, for sure. As far as AGE of amber alone is concerned, this list below is something I have just found on a website and may be useful (it is certainly interesting!). I note with some amusement that Australia is not mentioned. As it has just about all minerals, it is not surprising that a few years ago amber was found here, too, but that is apparently not yet widely known, which is unsurprising. Anyway, the list shows just how immensely old amber is - IN NATURE. When it comes to its use in WEARING ... I don't know what the supposed date for the oldest pieces is, but I'd think it must be long ago. I mentioned copal as a material because the discussion here and elsewhere often uses expressions like "African amber". Similarly, for many people "amber" (of the proper kind) means just "Baltic amber", and as the list shows, it occurs in many other places. However, in practice most proper amber one comes across is Baltic, because of the sheer quantity found in that area. Burmese amber is perhaps the most notable other variety because of its colour, although far fewer people in the west, at least, know that than they do Baltic amber. Truus does wear a lot of amber, but in any western country her necklace of slightly orange-coloured amber goes unnoticed, while many pounce on the other necklaces she wears. When we were near the Baltic sea, so to speak (visiting Russia and the Baltic states) we bought some of the very oldest amber, which is only now being dug up, and which is a very pale yellow. It is expensive, as there is not much of that material, and it is costly to mine. Baltic amber occurs in a great variety of colours, a fact exploited in the manufacture of the legendary "Amber Room". Here is the list! (Below.)

   

  Columbia - Recent - 100-5000 y

  North Carolina - Miocene - 15,000,000 n

  Dominican Republic - Oligocene-Miocene - 15,000,000-40,000,000 y

  Mexico - Oligocene-Miocene - 22,000,000-28,000,000 y

  Baltic Sea - Eocene-Oligocene - 28,000,000-54,000,000 y

  Wyoming - Paleocene - 60,000,000-65,000,000 n

  Alberta, Canada - Cretaceous - 70,000,000-75,000,000 y

  New Jersey - Cretaceous - 90,000,000-95,000,000 y

  Burma - Cretaceous - 100,000,000 y

  Lebanon - Cretaceous - 120,000,000 y

  Bavaria - Triassic - 250,000,000 y
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  Joost Daalder June 30, 2011 at 3:49am

  As far as the use of the word "amber" for "copal" is concerned, most of the dealers in ethnic or other jewellery whom I have dealt with over the years, in a variety of countries, have fortunately made a sharp distinction. No doubt there are people in the jewellery industry who misleadingly use the word amber for copal, but it should be realised that there is a BIG difference between the two, and that "true" amber is far more collectible. For Africa, the following, from a website called "Yakanaka", seems to me to put the position well:

  "African Amber – Copal  These beads are not as old as the true Amber beads, they are semi fossilised and are mainly found in Africa, namely Zanzibar Island, Morocco, Kenya, and Mali, however they still carry the mysteries and magical powers of true Amber.  The Africans believe Amber to have healing powers due to its warm colours and suns rays, bright and healthy."

   

  I add that in the "better" kind of Moroccan jewellery the amber used is generally "true amber", whereas most of the modern pieces use copal, and look much the worse as a result. There are, of course, many necklaces using recycled old true amber, and that has to be recognised as a truth even if a piece has been recently put together. It is worth paying a lot more for than copal.

   

  In New Zealand, where Truus and I lived for 10 years, there is a material called "Kauri resin", which some of the more ignorant or dishonest dealers called "amber", but most were wise enough to recognise that it was no better than - as the name puts it -  "Kauri resin" (good, but much younger than "true" amber). and if recognised as such the price of a necklace would be way below one made of "true" amber.

   

  Note the distinction between copal and "true amber".