By the way, there now is a booklet on fake amber

 

More Fake Amber

Normally, fake amber is not something one would run into frequently. It now appears that fake amber is 'making its comeback' with the popularity of e-bay auctions. This is not to say, if you see amber for sale at e-bay, it is fake. It is probably real. But if you see amber with vertebrate animals as inclusions, then there is a very good chance that this is fake! On this page, I am going to show you some of the fakes that I have seen go through e-bay and other places.

Here is a a lizard that way sold last month (May) for $497.00 (this is a fake). The description:

"Wonderful piece of amber with a lizard trapped in it. I bought it in March in a jewelry shop near Red Square in Moscow, Russia. The pictures do not do this item justice. It is very hard to take a picture of a fossil in amber. Winner pays shipping, $6.00 Shipping&Insurance, within USA, international will cost more. I will send UPS Ground. Payment to be made with a money order or cashier check. Good Luck!"

On 05/18/99 at 15:43:00 PDT, seller added the following information:

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"I had a perspective bidder email me a request to do a test to verify that the piece was genuine amber. It past. The test consists of putting the piece into a salt solution of 1.025-1.050 specific gravity. If it floats, it passes. Well it did float. The other test is to give it a small burn and if it smells of pine it is authentic. I don't want to do this because having a burn mark could lower the value of the piece. The following is a page that has a description of this test: (URL left out)" And what followed was this picture:

Following here is another picture of fake amber: Please note that as you travel through the web (or buy in stores), pieces of amber with vertebrates in them run into the many thousands of dollars. You will not pick up a gecko or another lizards for 200 or 500 dollars! Even if you get the 'hard luck' story, it is not going to happen. Do not get greedy, because you will not come out the winner! How is the average person who does not know amber to tell real from fake? I have a detailed page on distinguishing fakes, but first lets take a look at some of the obvious signs. With this picture, you may be able to see that the insect looks perfect. Note that it appears that this is a fresh specimen, not 20 million years old! Over the millions of years, the insects will degrade and not look 'fresh'. In some fakes, the background (matrix) is uniform in nature. This is easily seen on the two samples on the right. Sometimes the finish looks to smooth. While amber can have this smooth appearance, it is not common. In many fakes, the insects are placed in the dead center, seldom is this the case in natural amber!

Here is a nice piece that sold on e-bay for a few hundred dollars. Scorpions are very rare (I don't even have one) and VERY expensive (neither can I afford one!) Look at the placement and the matrix around the scorpion. The scorpion is very well placed in the mold and there are no 'movement' disturbances around the animal. The matrix is uniform and mottled. To my eyes, the color is off, but that could be because of electronic changes in the picture (I am also colorblind to just about every color you can think about.....)

An interesting one: Beautiful Baltic Amber pendent with large fossil, appraised by jeweler for 300.00 so start your bidding for this piece has no reserve, and the auction will only last three days. Thank You On 06/27/99 at 17:50:13 PDT, seller added the following information: Forgot to mention this piece weighs almost 14 grams, it's BIG!!!! Also I have over 1000 pounds of rough amber in stock at this time, and I also have finished necklaces, rings earring and pins and pendants in stock set in silver. So remember buy direct you'll be happy you did.

This was on e-bay, but did not exactly say it was a fake, but hinted at it: $11.01 (reserve not yet met) First bid $2.50 # of bids 7 (bid history) (with emails) Time left 2 days, 0 hours +

Description: BEAUTIFUL AMBROID AMBER PAPERWEIGHT, WITH HUGH INSECT (GRASSHOPPER) IMBEDDED INSIDE. DIMENSIONS ARE 3 INCHES LONG 2-3/8 INCHES WIDE AND 1 INCH THICK. THIS IS AN UNUSUAL PAPERWEIGHT, A RICH GOLDEN ORANGE. IF YOU COLLECT, DON'T MISS THIS ONE.

 

 

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