Faberge eggs and Amber

 

Wed. 9/26

Amber is the resin or sap from ancient trees that percolated in the ground for eons.  A fanciful mermaid story about lost love, was told  with the explanation for amber being the lovelorn mermaid’s tears. 

Amber comes in various colors depending on where the amber rested as it was formed.—brown amber was created in dirt, yellow, in sand, and green/gray was found at the bottom of the Baltic sea.

Three types of amber are transparent, which is clear and very shiny, translucent – the most common containing “inclusions” of plant or insect matter in infinitesimal amounts and the third is opaque, which obviously can’t be seen through.    Shapes of the pieces are important to the price as well.    Amber can be found on the beach of the Baltic Sea, can be caught in fishing nets and is also mined with machinery.

Amber was very expensive in Ancient Rome with a necklace being worth more than a good slave or a team of horses.  Amber was also thought to have healing properties. 

Modern Russians believe in these healing properties also.  We were told that it can alleviate pain of headache, toothache and babies wear amber when teething.

Ninety percent of Amber is found in Russia, with rhe rest being found in South America and other locations. 

My "amber" necklace and tiny egg recreations for someone for Christmas.

Pressed amber is made from the dust created from processing (cutting) amber, and is not considered to be authentic, but is very difficult to tell from the real amber. One test to tell real from fake amber is to float it in mixtures of salt water or sugar water.  Real amber floats in salt water and sinks in sugar water.  The fakes do the opposite. 

 The main advice for the buyer, is to trust the jeweler where you buy the amber.

Faberge was the jeweler to the Tsars Alexander and Nicholas.  He made many jeweled ornaments in his workshops, but is most famous for his Easter gifts created especially for the Royal family.   His first Faberge egg for the Royals was covered with 4 leaf clovers with miniatures of Nicholas II’s 4 daughters.  Most of the eggs held a surprise inside and many had clockwork movements, or music box additions.  One egg sold recently at auction for 24 million Euro.