Baltic Ocean Blue Amber ... as natural as UFOs

[Deleted member 29604]

Another product touted as incredibly rare - this time by Adina when she manages to finish a sentence. But it's just amber that's been heated and subjected to blue dye.

If I really search hard, I'm sure I'll find something very similar for sale at the equivalent of Aldi in Warsaw.

There's nothing wrong with it. Looks lovely and of course amber in its natural form is an incredible material. But it's not natural in that blue form. It's dyed. Obvs.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Natural Blue Amber does actually exist - from Indonesia and Burma.

It is very rare though. I have two natural pieces of rough.

 

[AndyW]

Adina has just waffled on for ten minutes about this new, one-off Baltic Blue showcase. Apparently they can't put it on pre-order and they going to treat it like Loriques "to be fair" to everyone.

Comparing it again to Dominican blue, not once did she mention that it was bog-standard HP treated Baltic amber that's been coated or treated. It's one thing bigging your wares up, with comparisons with our long-standing friends at Boucheron (she mentioned them), but this ain't right.

I wonder if she will at 8pm?

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Adina has just waffled on for ten minutes about this new, one-off Baltic Blue showcase. Apparently they can't put it on pre-order and they going to treat it like Loriques "to be fair" to everyone.

Comparing it again to Dominican blue, not once did she mention that it was bog-standard HP treated Baltic amber that's been coated or treated. It's one thing bigging your wares up, with comparisons with our long-standing friends at Boucheron (she mentioned them), but this ain't right.

I wonder if she will at 8pm?

I just came on to say I've put a double referral in to the ASA - and then I see this post.

Can you guess what one of the two things is I've just reported to the ASA?.........

 

[GrahamBristol]

Ladies and gentlemen - HC = HEAT & PRESSURE & COATING!!!
Not that any of us are surprised. They are a shower!

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Ladies and gentlemen - HC = HEAT & PRESSURE & COATING!!!

And its HIDDEN from the on-screen graphics - despite them being told less than three months ago that they had to make treatments details more prominent on screen.

I'm going to point this out to the ASA because in theory, they've broken that warning - so this should be an immediate escalation to actual action now.

 

[Rose de France]

The whole idea of blue-coated Baltic amber is disgusting. Fake, stupid and unnecessary.

 

[AndyW]

Very odd and marketing it in this way is stranger still. Heck, 11 years ago, I didn't know that green amber wasn't really a thing. I can at least understand the rationale behind the HPPT treatment for producing perfect shapes in exactly the dimensions you want for intricate designs.

 

[Rose de France]

I didn't know that green amber wasn't really a thing.

Not only green amber is fake.

"Red, cherry or black ambers are not natural but modified colors. They are obtained in an autoclave under the influence of high temperature and pressure in the presence of inhibitors. The exact process of obtaining them is unknown, because they are the secrets of technological processes"

https://ambermuseum.eu/en/fakty-i-mity-kolor-bursztynowy-czyli-jaki/

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Not only green amber is fake.

"Red, cherry or black ambers are not natural but modified colors. They are obtained in an autoclave under the influence of high temperature and pressure in the presence of inhibitors. The exact process of obtaining them is unknown, because they are the secrets of technological processes"

https://ambermuseum.eu/en/fakty-i-mity-kolor-bursztynowy-czyli-jaki/

Yep. All the coloured Ambers set into jewellery on Gemporia are coated.

The clue is in the name really - 'Amber'. If its not Amber in colour, then it's not really 'Amber'.

 

[Rose de France]

If its not Amber in colour, then it's not really 'Amber'.

The exception to this rule is white/yellowish amber. In Poland we call it "mleczny bursztyn" - "milky amber". Gemporia calls it "butterscotch amber".

 

[TheManWithNoName]

The exception to this rule is white/yellowish amber. In Poland we call it "mleczny bursztyn" - "milky amber". Gemporia calls it "butterscotch amber".

True.

There is actually untreated Red Amber too (I have a piece of 'rough') - it all depends on the impurities it came into contact with during its formation.

Almost all of Gemporia's coloured amber is treated though. Most of it also seems to lack inclusions too (ie, its the cheapest grade). It's the inclusions in Amber that give it its value rather than the actual Amber itself.

A piece of Amber with an extinct rare fly will be worth far more than a piece of Amber with just bubbles or inclusions of just 'debris / tree bark'.

 

[Rose de France]

Most of it also seems to lack inclusions too (ie, its the cheapest grade). It's the inclusions in Amber that give it its value rather than the actual Amber itself.

This is why people create "sun spangles" by heating amber and then cooling it very quickly. These internal fractures look like inclusions. Unfortunately, it's hard to find amber jewellery without "sun spangles". Heat treatment is an industrial standard now.

 

[Rose de France]

The best Polish stone is krzemień pasiasty, also known as striped flint, banded flint, cappuccino flint, or Polish flint. It's rare (found in one location on Earth), durable (7 on the Mohs scale of hardness) and completely natural.

 

[AndyW]

The best Polish stone is krzemień pasiasty, also known as striped flint, banded flint, cappuccino flint, or Polish flint. It's rare (found in one location on Earth), durable (7 on the Mohs scale of hardness) and completely natural.

Lovely! Probably sounds silly to say but, if you ever wanted some proof that rocks were once liquid and hot gas and that extreme pressures and chemical soups existed, this is a great example, just like some pretty agates (says the cheapskate in me, again ).

 

[AndyW]

The exception to this rule is white/yellowish amber. In Poland we call it "mleczny bursztyn" - "milky amber". Gemporia calls it "butterscotch amber".

Say hello to my tiny bear friend

 

[Ostrichkeeper]

I remember some presenter making a big thing about there being an insect in a piece of amber awhile back. There’s absolutely no way that it was there naturally.

 

[Rose de France]

I remember some presenter making a big thing about there being an insect in a piece of amber awhile back. There’s absolutely no way that it was there naturally.

It's possible to create fake amber pieces with interesting inclusions. Some people kill today's creatures (not only insects, but also scorpions!) to put them in natural or synthetic resin.

 

[LV73]

Yep. All the coloured Ambers set into jewellery on Gemporia are coated.

The clue is in the name really - 'Amber'. If its not Amber in colour, then it's not really 'Amber'.

What! But they always rave on about them being totally natural. I took them at face value and bought from them. At least I still love my pieces, and it can't be just Gemporia who does this as I saw coloured Amber in Gdansk and on the cruise ship I was on (at 3 or 4 times the price)

 

[TheManWithNoName]

The best Polish stone is krzemień pasiasty, also known as striped flint, banded flint, cappuccino flint, or Polish flint. It's rare (found in one location on Earth), durable (7 on the Mohs scale of hardness) and completely natural.

Gorgeous stone. I have a big piece of 'rough' in my collection than I bought about 4 years ago. Very unique stone.