KNOW THE GAMS

AMBER

Amber is the fossilized resin of ancient or extinct trees, are organic material rather than a mineral, as most gems are. Its hardness is between 2 and 2'/z on the Mohs scale. It is so soft that it can be easily cut with a knife and so light that it will float on sea water, while is heavier than fresh water. Although it is usually yellowish, reddish or brownish in color, it may be blue, green, white, or black. Antique genuine amber is a collector's item.

Amber is found along seashores, especially in the Baltic, and i; mined. Sicilian amber is distinctively dark red or orange; Rumaniar amber, brownish yellow; and Chinese amber from Burma, dark brown to brownish yellow. Amber is generally cut into cabochons and is rarely faceted, because of its softness. It is better for jewelry other than rings, since rings are more easily scratched.

Amber has been used and prized for personal adornment since ancient times. In Greece, it was called electron, from which the word electric comes, since it becomes charged when rubbed cloth and can pick up bits of paper and other light objects.

The Baltic islands where it was found were known as the Electrides by the Greeks and as the insulae glessaridae, or Amber Islands, by the Romans.

Amber Substitutes. The electrification of amber is a good test for it. Opaque amber, in particular, is easily imitated in plasticsometimes called "amber antique"-as well as glass. Copal, another resinous material, is not amber and is so much softer that it can be scratched by a fingernail.

Another substitute is amberoid or amberoid, which is reconstructed or pressed amber. That is, bits of amber and sometimes copal are pressed together under heat and pressure to from single block.