Amber-dead bug jewelry

When you wear your amber jewelry, do you ever stop to think about how it came to be, or do you just enjoy the rich color and interesting occlusions in the golden colored decoration?
Amber is the result of trees oozing sap that worked down the tree, picking up insects, bits and pieces of bark and dirt. Over time, it hardened into a material that looks like a stone, trapping the debris inside. Most of these occlusions will be a monotone color, although pieces with multicolor beetles have been found. There are even known pieces with lizards and frogs in them-interestingly, the best known frog has 6 legs! Baltic amber is the best known, but South America also has amber, as do other areas of the world. Amber will date from 30-90 million years in age, and some has been found in rocks as old as 230 million years - during the Triassic period.
There are several legends about the origin of amber. My favorite is that it came from tears shed during Noah’s flood. The Greeks believed that the Heliads shed tears into the Eridanus when their brother Phaethon was drowned in the river, and these tears became amber. They didn’t explain how the amber got from the river to the trees, however. But these legends are no more interesting than the factual history!
Wherever it came from, it makes beautiful jewelry.
There are some simple tests to find out if that piece of jewelry you are looking at is real amber. Amber feels somewhat warm to the touch rather than cool like stones. When rubbed, it develops an electric state and paper will stick to it. When heated enough, it will melt, although you don’t want to try this! The best thing is to buy your amber pieces from reputable shops that will guarantee their items. Enjoy your amber and reap the benefits of the good luck it is reputed to bring!