Amber is an amazing natural stone. It has many useful properties and always pleases the eye with its bright color.
Some of the history of amber
What do you think the word "amber" can mean? What historical roots does this stone have? Where did he come to us from? It turns out that the homeland of amber is considered to be the territory of Lithuania. In Lithuanian, amber sounds like "gintaras" from the derivative verb "ginti", meaning protection.
Amber is one of the varieties of fossil resin. It is widely used both in official medicine and in folk medicine, as well as in the chemical and electrical industries.
Despite the fact that amber does not belong to precious stones, various jewelry: earrings, rings, bracelets, pendants, necklaces with amber inserts are very popular at all times, warming and pleasing the heart with its bright and joyful light.
Amber was a lot all the time. And in the Baltic countries, and in Mexico, on the Arabian Peninsula, Alaska, in many countries of Northern Europe. Undoubtedly, the most famous deposits were located in the Baltic.
Until now, despite the abundance of mining equipment, amber is probably extracted, perhaps, by the most ancient way - collecting. Collectors simply walk along the edge of the sea and carefully scan the pebbles and sand. And here and there you can find yellow fossilized pieces of resin. Such fishing is illegal. The main extraction of amber is carried out in an industrial way. It is because of this unauthorized extraction of amber that it becomes quite rare and expensive. It is worth remembering that the reserves of amber, like any useful mineral, are not unlimited.
And despite all this - amber is a popular and quite accessible stone. Beads or bracelet from amber can not be called very expensive, but the useful properties of amber, which it is endowed with, are amazing and unique.
Useful properties of amber stone
Having saturated with iodine of sea water over many millennia, amber has become useful in the treatment of diseases of the thyroid gland, as well as its ability to electrify. This was written by Pliny.
By the way, in ancient times amber was well known and widely used in various spheres. The mention of this stone can be found even in such a famous work as the "Odyssey" of Homer. Amber and the crowns of ancient Egyptian pharaohs were decorated with amber. In addition, in the era of the ruler of Nero, amber was used as a building material - it was decorated with many villas and pools of high-ranking and respected citizens.
Few people know about such properties of amber as biogenic action. Amber stops excessive destruction of red blood cells, also prevents blood clotting. That is why the stone is used in the manufacture of tools and equipment for canning and blood transfusion.
Amber stone, like any resin, burns well. Smoke of smoldering amber resembles the smell of smoldering cones of coniferous trees. Because of this smell in Russia, amber was called "sea incense". On the island of Valaam, monks have been treated for a long time with the smoke of smoldering amber with various types of colds.
Violins of such famous Italian masters as Stradivari, Amati and Guarneri were covered with varnish, which necessarily included amber. This greatly increased the cost of violins, because the coating with amber made them truly unsurpassed tools.
Amber is considered a talisman born under the sign of Leo. The color of amber can be from light beige and even white to reddish-brown. Known shades are about two hundred, including such shades as blue, green and violet. Not every type of amber is used by jewelers to produce particularly expensive items, but any kind of amber will go to small crafts. For example, on sale you can often see brooches, mouthpieces, chess, pendants, jewelry boxes, and other pleasant knick-knacks.
Amber is considered a good stone. After all, it is not for nothing that almost all Moslem beads are cut out of it. This stone is liked by both men and women, and young and already wise experience of the elders.
There are jewels that are considered dangerous or "evil." For example, varieties of diamonds, from which diamonds are made. And amber in this sense is absolutely harmless. It is a stone that is nice to give and receive as a gift. Like all stones, amber is subject to the flow of fashion: it is completely oblivious, then again at the peak of popularity and demand.
Undoubtedly, amber causes special interest among collectors. Collecting emeralds or rubies is rather expensive, and amber has always been distinguished by a democratic price. Sometimes inclusions come in pieces of amber - small inclusions of ancient insects. Products of this type are of scientific interest, serve as examples of representatives of ancient life. By the way of amber with incluosis make different types of jewelry: pendants, earrings, rings with frozen inside flies, spiders, mosquitoes and other insects. On the one hand, these decorations look somewhat frightening - yet these insects once were alive, and on the other, always attract attention.
Care of products with amber
The stone itself is considered alive. Like pearls, amber is a product of organic origin. Therefore, as strange as it may sound, it is prone to various diseases and the aging process. For example, with long-term contact with wood, glue or paper, amber can catch a fungus and die. Amber does not like high temperatures, with strong heating occurs charring of the stone. At impact or careless handling, amber can crack or break. But with all this, caring for jewelry with amber inserts is quite simple. It is necessary to rinse the products from time to time in slightly warm soapy water and then wipe dry with a soft cloth. Amber is prone to scratches, so handling it must be delicate. When scratches appear, amber can easily be restored, since this stone is liable to be polished.
Rules for choosing amber
In recent years, amber has been falsified using modern synthetic resin. But such a forgery is easy enough to recognize. Natural amber is always sunny, warm, radiating favorable energy. But most importantly, it can never be dull or cloudy. And it is worth recalling that amber products with inclusions of insects are never cheap and can not be sold by handfuls in a stall with non-certified products.
A few words about the shortcomings of amber
To create an objective picture of the appearance and useful properties of amber, it is worth noting a few minuses of this stone. For example, because of some of its softness, amber does not hold well in the frame of jewelry: earrings, pendants, pendants, rings.
As for contraindications, they exist only for those who believe in the horoscope. Astrologers believe that amber is contraindicated in Taurus.