Gintaras (Lithuanian for amber) comes from "ginte" (meaning to protect).
Amber is any natural resin which oozed its way out of a tree and
eventually fossilized at any time from recent times back to many million
years ago. Amber comes in many shades and colors, although the most
common are cognac, honey, green, lemon yellow, ivory and cream/yellow.
It is is lightweight and because it is an organic substance, each piece
is unique.
Baltic amber (known as succinite) is a specific subset
of amber that is found only in northern Europe: it accounts for some
80% of the known amber in the world. Between 35 and 50 million years
ago, sap oozed out from a forest of conifers (probably either false
larch or kauri) in the region now covered by the Baltic Sea, and
eventually hardened into clear lumps. Shoved around northern Europe by
glaciers and river channels, lumps of genuine Baltic amber can still be
found today on the eastern coasts of England and Holland, throughout
Poland, Scandinavia and northern Germany and much of western Russia and
the Baltic states.
Baltic amber is fossil resin produced by pine trees, which grew in
Northern Europe - from southern regions of the present day Scandinavia
and nearby regions of the bed of the Baltic Sea. The climate became
warmer and conifer trees started to exude big amounts of resin.
Scientists say that amber is a fossil pine resin from this region that
has achieved a stable state through oxidation. The word amber meant only
one thing – the Baltic Amber. However, the process of how amber is
formed traced more amber varieties in different parts of the world.
Although more than 125 types of fossil resins are known in the world,
these resins are not amber but its relatives. They are mostly found in
Europe and America and each of them has its own name. But the Baltic
amber is uniquely known for its quality and is most sought after.
Cleaning instructions
- Two containers of water.
- A toothbrush
- Some liquid Soap
- Some olive oil.
- And a few towels
Mix a small amount of liquid soap in the water, dip it in the soap
and water mixture, and scrub the amber gently. focus on the area wear
the silver meets the amber, or in the case of amber without silver, in
between the amber stones, or beads. Rinse off any residue from the soap,
by washing off the amber in your other container of water. Take small
amount of olive oil, apply it to your hand, (or finger depending on the
size of the amber) and work it into the stone. This will keep your stone
with a beautiful luster. Be careful when cleaning Amber has an
approximately Mohs Hardness Value of 2.5, which means it’s a very soft
gemstone, and can be scratched.