The jewellery market is flooded with fake amber, and if you’re searching for a genuine piece, it can be tough to spot the difference. After all, you don’t want to pay ‘real’ prices for cheap plastic imitation amber jewellery.
Nobody likes feeling like they’ve been duped. But don’t worry—in this blog post, we’ll explore 6 ways to help you tell if your amber is authentic or not.
Understanding real amber
Amber has been used in jewellery for thousands of years, prized for its beautiful range of colours, which range from pale yellow to deep orange and warm brown tones. Many fake amber products have been mass-produced to capitalise on the stone’s popularity. This makes it difficult to know for sure you’re getting an authentic amber piece.
The first step to identifying real amber is to understand how it forms. Knowing how genuine amber develops will help train your eye to spot the real thing—or an imposter—when you see it.
Organic origins
Amber forms over the course of millions of years. When a tree gets a break in its bark, it secretes a thick, sticky substance called resin to seal the break shut. This works in much the same way as when we get a cut and start bleeding; our body sends platelets to the injury, and a scab forms.
This resin has antiseptic properties that protect the tree from disease, hardening in the sun to create a protective layer around the damaged bark. Sometimes, insects or other organisms get caught in the sticky substance as it dries, preserving their bodies for millennia.
Petrification process
Once formed, the resin often falls off the bark and onto the forest floor or into nearby water sources. It can get buried in the earth or in the silt at the bottom of a lake and stay there for thousands of years or more.
The deeper the resin is buried in the earth, the more pressure and heat it’s exposed to. Over an extended period, this pressure and heat petrifies the resin, resulting in the hard, glassy amber that we’re familiar with.
How to tell if your amber is real
Clearly, plastic and amber are developed in completely different ways. This can give you a clue as to whether or not your amber is authentic. Here are a few tests you can do to be sure.
- Visual inspections
Sometimes you can tell just by looking at the stone whether or not it’s real. Genuine amber isn’t perfect and will have tiny cracks, air bubbles, or other imperfections embedded in it. If it’s too uniform and flawless, be suspicious!
Some sellers will even include insects in the amber to make it look more authentic. If the insect is placed directly in the centre of the amber, it could be a fake. When bugs or other organisms are trapped in the tree resin that makes authentic amber, they’re rarely preserved perfectly in the middle of the stone.
At the end of the day, if your amber looks too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Rubbing test
The rubbing of an amber stone against a natural material such as silk or wool or cotton will enable it to attract light objects such as small pieces of paper or hair. This static electricity is the reason why amber used to be called “Electron” by the ancient Greeks.
Amber has magnetic properties because it exhibits static electricity, which was first observed by the Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus in 600 BC. Thales may have noticed amber’s static electricity while observing wool production, which used amber tools.
When friction is applied, amber becomes negatively charged and attracts lightweight particles such as very small pieces of tissue, thin paper, straw, fluff, or dried leaves.
All we need to do is to wrap a piece of amber in a natural material and rubb it for approximately 20-60 seconds. Magic will happen after that, it will attract (pick up) those light weights particles, if it doesn’t , then it is highly likely that the gem is not real amber.
3. Hot needle test
This test is exactly what it sounds like, and it’s one of the most effective ways to determine if amber is genuine. Heat up a needle and carefully push it against the piece of amber. Real amber is quite soft compared to other gemstones, so if the needle goes in or the amber shows some cracking, then it’s likely real.
Note: This test should also produce the pine tree resin smell! Give it a sniff and see if you get a hint of pine.
It’s best to perform the needle test on a bigger piece of amber, as a smaller piece may not hold up well and could be destroyed.
4. Scratch test
If you don’t mind marking your amber a little, a scratch test is another way to verify your amber’s origins. Gently try to scratch the amber with your fingernail or a sharp object. If it’s real, it should show scratches easily with little pressure.
Be careful! As with the hot needle test, only use as much pressure as you need to make a small mark, or you could damage your amber jewellery if it’s genuine!
5. Saltwater test
Genuine amber floats in saltwater, so this is an easy way to authenticate your piece without tarnishing or scratching it. The test will be more effective if you can remove any metal clasps or attachments, as these may make the amber sink.
Mix up a solution of one part salt to two parts water and stir to fully dissolve the salt. Place the amber in the saltwater solution and see if it floats or sinks. If it floats, then congratulations! You have a piece of real amber on your hands.
6. Acetone test
You might have some acetone—the active ingredient in nail polish remover— lying around at home. But did you know it can be a useful way to check if your amber is genuine?
Place a few drops of the acetone on an inconspicuous area of the amber. If its surface becomes tacky or the acetone takes on the colour of the amber, then, unfortunately, your amber is fake.
Real amber won’t be affected by acetone and won’t turn into a sticky mess when tested.
When in doubt, consult an expert
If you don’t want to carry out tests yourself and risk damaging your amber, that’s okay. A reputable jeweller or gemologist can verify your amber piece for you, conducting professional tests like infrared spectroscopy to verify its authenticity.
Go to a reliable source!
The best way to guarantee genuine amber is to buy it from a trustworthy seller. We specialise in sourcing and selling only the highest quality, 100% authentic Baltic amber. With over 25 years of expertise at our disposal, we can always tell real amber apart from its plastic imitators.
Our amber is never pressed to keep its natural colour, texture, and integrity intact. We keep it as true to its organic state as possible so you can enjoy one of nature’s extraordinary gems in its purest form.
Browse our amber jewellery collections and experience the beauty that only real amber can offer.
