COMPOSITION

Amber does not belong to any class of minerals, since it is drained resin. From a chemical point of view, amber consists of 79 percent carbon, 10.5 percent hydrogen and 10.5 percent oxygen. Studies with a mass spectrometer have shown that amber contains over 40 compounds as well as succinic acids and additive salts of potassium, sodium and iron. Amber extends over three groups of compounds: volatile terpenes and sesquiterpenes, soluble, organic acids and also non-soluble polyether.

It ranges from bright yellow to dark yellow or brownish-orange, depending on its age and where it is found: it seldom cases it is either red or blue. Only a small quantity of amber is clear – because of the effects of the sum -, most of it is opaque. It takes an electrical charge when it is rubbed and develops a "christmas-like" smell when it is burnt. The German word for amber comes from the Low German word "börnen, bernen" ( = to burn).

Learned scholars and scientists disagreed with each other for a long time about the origin and properties of amber. The history of its origin was only clearly researched in the 19th century. Enclosures, such as water bubbles, gas bubbles, pieces of bark, twigs, plant seeds and even insects and small animals unmistakably show its origin and give it its characteristic appearance.