What makes amber valuable

Baltic amber refers to amber found not only in the Baltic region but also in parts of Germany, Russia, and Poland. Clarity also plays a role, although the relationship between it and price is not always straightforward.

The most common color of Baltic amber is light to medium-dark yellow usually described as lemon-like or honey-like. There are darker varieties that have more brownish or reddish hues, and some pieces are even white and opaque.

Baltic amber with blue or green hues also exists, but such pieces are very rare. The most valuable Baltic amber colors are honey, cognac, and red. In general, more intense hues are preferred, and paler colors are not as valuable as more saturated ones. Baltic amber varies in clarity, and pieces can range from transparent to fully opaque. Usually, clearer pieces are preferred to those of lower clarity.

However, flaws in amber are not necessarily seen as problematic, and if they indicate that a piece is authentic and ancient, they may make it more valuable. For example, amber with captured insects or plants inside can be sold at a premium unless the piece is fake, which is often the case. Some collectors also place a higher value on pieces that have fossils inside them. In general, the most valuable color of amber is rich yellow of medium to strong darkness. Red pieces are also considered of high value.

Clear amber is more valuable than pieces that look cloudy or opaque. Dominican amber tends to have higher clarity compared with most Baltic amber specimens. Plant pieces captured in amber can be considered inclusions, but they do not really diminish its value and can add to its attraction. This is especially true of Baltic amber, which is often treated this way before it is sold.

Red Baltic amber, in particular, is almost always heated to achieve its cherry color. Some amber pieces have cracks and other irregularities, which are masked by filling them with copal another form of tree resin.

Some amber is also covered with certain coatings. This type of treatment usually aims to enhance color, but the results are not as durable as those of heat treatment. Since amber pieces are not always the right size or shape that consumers prefer, vendors melt pieces of the material into chunks that are larger or better shaped.

Fake amber pieces are usually made of copal, other resins, plastic, and even glass. It is not always easy to distinguish imitations from the real thing as some of them look very much like genuine amber. One of the surest ways to identify real amber is to touch it with a hot needle — the smell produced should be sweet and pine-like. However, this is test is not recommended unless you are ready to damage a part of your amber. The amber, which was from the Lower Cretaceous period, was mined in the mountains of Lebanon south of Beirut by Aftim Acra, who has a collection of amber pieces containing insects, including termites, moths, caterpillars, spiders, pseudoscorpions, and midges, which do, after all, suck their host's blood.

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