Baltic Amber in Australia

Baltic Amber is the fossilized resin of pine trees which grew millions of years ago. Wearers  value  amber Jewellery for it’s beauty and it’s feel, as well as healing properties. So exactly where does Baltic Amber come from? What is the Baltic Amber source?

The region around the Baltic sea has the largest (and probably the most famous) deposits of amber  in the world. This area was once a huge pine forest, and when resin seeped out of the trees, it slowly hardened into a resilient lump. Eventually buried when the tree died, this fossilised into amber. The Baltic reserve represents approximately 80% of the world’s known amber.

As a soft tree resin, amber sometimes catches and contains insects and even small vertebrates. Known as ‘Inclusions’ in the jewellery world, these add to the rarity and value of the piece.  Although amber is an organic substance, and so not a mineral, it is generally classified as a gemstone.

Some Science Behind Baltic Amber Source

Since the 1850s people thought that the pine tree Pinites succinifer produced the resin that became amber. However in the 1980s researchers discovered that the resin originates from several pine tree species. More recently, scientists have proposed that conifers of the family Sciadopityaceae were responsible.

Natural Baltic Amber can be scientifically dated to between 35 and 45 million years ago.  Also known as succinite amber, it contains a substantial amount of succinic acid. Genuine Baltic Amber contains up to 8% succinic acid. Amber that lacks succinic acid is classified as retinite amber.

Baltic Amber Artisans

For many generations, local people found the precious amber washed up on the beaches of the Baltic sea. Artisans fashioned jewellery from the finds, and the wearers soon discovered the healing properties of amber, which increased the demand.

Baltic Amber Sources

Baltic Amber generally comes from one of two sources. Being lighter than sea water, amber floats to the surface after erosion frees it from the rocks at the bottom of the sea. Amber fishers then harvest it from the beaches of the Baltic coast after it has been washed up.

Alternatively prospectors dig blocks of Baltic amber from open pits of 40-60 million-year-old glauconite sand. The deposits are  called “blue earth” because of their blue-green colour.  In the early twentieth century, miners extracted up to one million lb (450,000 kg) of amber per year  from the blue earth layer of the Samland Peninsula in the eastern Baltic.

Amber is a precious gemstone, much in demand for the jewellery industry. Consequently there are people who claim that substitutes from other places are Baltic amber. However, the true Baltic Amber source is the Baltic region, particularly around Gdansk, in Poland. So accept no substitute.

Baltic Amber is an organic substance which was produced by pine trees which grew in Northern Europe over 45 million years ago. Over millions of years, the resin fossilised into a hard material called amber or succinite. Genuine Baltic Amber can only be obtained be obtained from countries which border the Baltic Sea.

In the countries round the Baltic Sea, people have known for many generations about the benefits of Baltic Amber, and many artisan trades grew up making Baltic Amber jewellery in the region. It is common to find Baltic Amber fashioned into amber earrings, amber necklaces, pendants and bracelets.