Amber
This page kindly sponsored in memory of Laszlo Z. Valachi
About Amber
Colour:
Yellow-orange-brown, pale lemon yellow, red, brown, nearly black; rarely blue or green
Hardness:
2 - 2½
Name:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber#Etymology:
The English word amber derives from Arabic ʿanbar عنبر (ultimately from Middle Persian ambar) via Middle Latin ambar and Middle French ambre. The word referred to what is now known as ambergris (ambre gris or "gray amber"), a solid waxy substance derived from the sperm whale. The word, in its sense of "ambergris," was adopted in Middle English in the 14th century.
In the Romance languages, the sense of the word was extended to Baltic amber (fossil resin) from as early as the late 13th century. At first called white or yellow amber (ambre jaune), this meaning was adopted in English by the early 15th century. As the use of ambergris waned, this became the main sense of the word.
The two substances ("yellow amber" and "gray amber") conceivably became associated or confused because they both were found washed up on beaches. Ambergris is less dense than water and floats, whereas amber is too dense to float, though less dense than stone.
The classical names for amber, Latin electrum and Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ēlektron), are connected to a term ἠλέκτωρ (ēlektōr) meaning "beaming Sun". According to myth, when Phaëton son of Helios (the Sun) was killed, his mourning sisters became poplar trees, and their tears became elektron, amber. The word elektron gave rise to the words electric, electricity, and their relatives because of amber's ability to bear a charge of static electricity.
Pliny the Elder says that the German name of amber was glæsum, "for which reason the Romans, when Germanicus commanded the fleet in those parts, gave to one of these islands the name of Glæsaria, which by the barbarians was known as Austeravia". This is confirmed by the recorded Old High German word glas and by the Old English word glær for "amber" (compare glass). In Middle Low German, amber was known as berne-, barn-, börnstēn (with etymological roots related to "burn" and to "stone"). The Low German term became dominant also in High German by the 18th century, thus modern German Bernstein besides Dutch barnsteen. In the Baltic languages, the Lithuanian term for amber is gintaras and the Latvian dzintars. These words, and the Slavic jantar and Hungarian gyanta ('resin'), are thought to originate from Phoenician jainitar ("sea-resin").
The English word amber derives from Arabic ʿanbar عنبر (ultimately from Middle Persian ambar) via Middle Latin ambar and Middle French ambre. The word referred to what is now known as ambergris (ambre gris or "gray amber"), a solid waxy substance derived from the sperm whale. The word, in its sense of "ambergris," was adopted in Middle English in the 14th century.
In the Romance languages, the sense of the word was extended to Baltic amber (fossil resin) from as early as the late 13th century. At first called white or yellow amber (ambre jaune), this meaning was adopted in English by the early 15th century. As the use of ambergris waned, this became the main sense of the word.
The two substances ("yellow amber" and "gray amber") conceivably became associated or confused because they both were found washed up on beaches. Ambergris is less dense than water and floats, whereas amber is too dense to float, though less dense than stone.
The classical names for amber, Latin electrum and Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ēlektron), are connected to a term ἠλέκτωρ (ēlektōr) meaning "beaming Sun". According to myth, when Phaëton son of Helios (the Sun) was killed, his mourning sisters became poplar trees, and their tears became elektron, amber. The word elektron gave rise to the words electric, electricity, and their relatives because of amber's ability to bear a charge of static electricity.
Pliny the Elder says that the German name of amber was glæsum, "for which reason the Romans, when Germanicus commanded the fleet in those parts, gave to one of these islands the name of Glæsaria, which by the barbarians was known as Austeravia". This is confirmed by the recorded Old High German word glas and by the Old English word glær for "amber" (compare glass). In Middle Low German, amber was known as berne-, barn-, börnstēn (with etymological roots related to "burn" and to "stone"). The Low German term became dominant also in High German by the 18th century, thus modern German Bernstein besides Dutch barnsteen. In the Baltic languages, the Lithuanian term for amber is gintaras and the Latvian dzintars. These words, and the Slavic jantar and Hungarian gyanta ('resin'), are thought to originate from Phoenician jainitar ("sea-resin").
A fossil tree resin.
In order to qualify as "amber", it is NOT sufficient for a tree resin merely to harden by losing its volatiles. The molecules must polymerize, which can take millions of years (or at least 100,000 years). After polymerization, amber becomes significantly less soluble in common organic solvents, and so will not become sticky if wetted with alcohol, acetone, or gasoline. Much of the material marketed as "amber" (especially that from Colombia and Madagascar) is far too young to be considered amber and is in reality just dried tree resin.
The oldest amber recovered dates to the Upper Carboniferous period (320 million years ago).
Amber is heterogeneous in composition but consists of several resinous materials more or less soluble in alcohol, ether, and chloroform, associated with an insoluble bituminous substance. Amber comprises macromolecules formed by free radical polymerization of numerous precursors in the labdane family, e.g. communic acid, cummunol, and biformene. These labdanes are diterpenes (C20H32) and trienes, equipping the organic skeleton with three alkene groups for polymerization. As amber matures over the years, more polymerization takes place as well as isomerization reactions, crosslinking, and cyclization.
Visit gemdat.org for gemological information about Amber.
In order to qualify as "amber", it is NOT sufficient for a tree resin merely to harden by losing its volatiles. The molecules must polymerize, which can take millions of years (or at least 100,000 years). After polymerization, amber becomes significantly less soluble in common organic solvents, and so will not become sticky if wetted with alcohol, acetone, or gasoline. Much of the material marketed as "amber" (especially that from Colombia and Madagascar) is far too young to be considered amber and is in reality just dried tree resin.
The oldest amber recovered dates to the Upper Carboniferous period (320 million years ago).
Amber is heterogeneous in composition but consists of several resinous materials more or less soluble in alcohol, ether, and chloroform, associated with an insoluble bituminous substance. Amber comprises macromolecules formed by free radical polymerization of numerous precursors in the labdane family, e.g. communic acid, cummunol, and biformene. These labdanes are diterpenes (C20H32) and trienes, equipping the organic skeleton with three alkene groups for polymerization. As amber matures over the years, more polymerization takes place as well as isomerization reactions, crosslinking, and cyclization.
Visit gemdat.org for gemological information about Amber.Unique Identifiers
Mindat ID:
188
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:188:3
Similar Names
| Umber | A synonym of 'Limonite' |
Pronunciation of Amber
Pronunciation:
| Play | Recorded by | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Jolyon Ralph | United Kingdom |
Physical Properties of Amber
Colour:
Yellow-orange-brown, pale lemon yellow, red, brown, nearly black; rarely blue or green
Hardness:
2 - 2½ on Mohs scale
Synonyms of Amber
Other Language Names for Amber
Arabic:كهرمان
Asturian:Ámbar
Belarusian:Бурштын
Bosnian:Ćilibar
Catalan:Ambre
Czech:Jantar
Danish:Rav
Dutch:Barnsteen
Esperanto:Sukceno
Estonian:Merevaik
Farsi/Persian:کهربا
Finnish:Meripihka
French:Ambre
Galician:Ámbar
Greek:Κεχριμπάρι
Hebrew:ענבר
Hungarian:Borostyán
Icelandic:Raf
Ido:Sucino
Italian:Ambra
Japanese:コハク
Korean:호박
Latin:Succinum
Latvian:Dzintars
Lithuanian:Gintaras
Low Saxon/Low German:Barnsteen
Norwegian:Rav
Polish:Bursztyn
Portuguese:Âmbar
Romanian:Chihlimbar
Russian:Янтарь
Serbian:Ћилибар
Serbo-Croatian:Jantar
Simplified Chinese:琥珀
Slovak:Jantár
Slovenian:Jantar
Swedish:Bärnsten
Tamil:அம்பர்
Thai:อำพัน
Turkish:Kehribar
Ukrainian:Бурштин
Vietnamese:Hổ phách
Welsh:Ambr
Varieties of Amber
| Almashite | A variety of amber low in oxygen. Originally reported from Almas Valley, Piatra, Neamt Co., Romania. |
| Ambrosine | Amber containing much succinic acid. Originally described from Charleston, Charleston Co., South Carolina, USA. |
| Bacalite | A white or yellow variety of amber (or quartz) from Baja California, Mexico. |
| Burmite | A generally deep red amber from Burma. An amber occurring in the upper Hukong Valley, Burma. Differs from ordinary amber in that it doesn't contain succinic acid. Originally described from Maingkwan, Myitkyina-Mogaung District, Kachin State, Myanmar (Bu... |
| Cloudy Bastard Amber | A variety of amber that takes a good polish but is more turbid that fatty amber. The cloudy appearance is caused by a multitude of small bubbles within the mass. It is a common variety and there are several degrees of cloudiness. Some may have portions di... |
| Delatynite | A variety of amber from the area near Delyatyn, Ukraine. |
| Duxite | Translated from Doelter (1874): “The resinous deposit is located in the first seam thickness and is not separated from the other 6-7 seam thicknesses by any further intermediate layer. The lignite is directly connected on both sides to the resinous depo... |
| Fatty Amber | A cloudy variety of amber that is slightly turbid and appears to have fine dust suspended within. |
| Foamy Amber | An opaque, very soft, amber that does not take a polish. |
| Gedanite | A resin resembling amber but with little succinic acid. Originally described from Gdansk (Danzig), Pomorskie, Poland. |
| Jaulingite | A fossil resin. Originally reported from Jauling, St Veit an der Triesting, Bad Vöslau, Lower Austria, Austria. |
| Jelinite | A variety of amber from Ellsworth Co., Kansas, USA. |
| Kochenite | Originally reported from Kochen valley, Telfs, Inn valley, North Tyrol, Tyrol, Austria. |
| Munktenite | A Romanian amber |
| Muntenite | A Romanian amber. Originally reported from Olanesti, Valcea Co., Romania. |
| Osseous Amber | Also known as bone amber, this is an opaque amber, slightly softer than other varieties which does not polish well. It has the general appearance of bone or ivory. |
| Plaffeiite | Name for an upper Paleozoic (Gurnigelflysch formation) amber from Switzerland (Höllibach near Plasselb, not far from Plaffeien, ca. 15 km SE of Fribourg). |
| Rosthornite | An ill-defined resin, resembling amber and jaulingite. Originally reported from Sonnberg, Guttaring, Friesach - Hüttenberg area, Carinthia, Austria. |
| Simetite | A variety of amber of Miocene age from Sicily. Contains less succinic acid than Baltic amber. A deep-red to light orange-yellow variety of amber having a high content of sulfur and oxygen and a low content of succinic acid; occurs in the waters off Sicily... |
| pseudosuccinite | Variety of amber differing from Baltic amber in its reaction to solvents. Ref: Tomkeieff |
Common Associates
Associations Based on Photo Data:
| 5 photos of Amber associated with 'Humic coal series' | |
| 5 photos of Amber associated with Phoridae | |
| 4 photos of Amber associated with Mycetophilidae | |
| 3 photos of Amber associated with Psychodidae | |
| 2 photos of Amber associated with Coleoptera | |
| 2 photos of Amber associated with Marcasite | FeS2 |
| 2 photos of Amber associated with Araneidae | |
| 2 photos of Amber associated with 'Bituminous-coal' | |
| 2 photos of Amber associated with 'Diatomite' | |
| 1 photo of Amber associated with 'Jet' |
Other Information
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Internet Links for Amber
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-188.html
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References for Amber
Localities for Amber
Showing 301 localities.
Locality List
- This locality has map coordinates listed.
- This locality has estimated coordinates.
ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence.
? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.
- Good crystals or important locality for species.
- World class for species or very significant.
(TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species.
(FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties).
All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.



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The
Carnikava Beach, Carnikava Parish, Ādaži Municipality, Vidzeme Region, Latvia