Amber is EXPENSIVE. This has been on my covet list for almost as long as I have been selling beads. Anything THAT expensive is an instant "I want to find it cheaper and make it available to show up all the other sellers" thing for me! So I looked and I finally FOUND. I eagerly awaited these beads, and when I got them...HUH? What was this? It looked and felt like a bunch of lightweight plastic chip beads! I have no idea what Amber is like (I'm a Rockhound, not a Fossilized Tree Sap Hound), so I didn't realize it is lighter in weight than any other gemstone. I immediately thought I'd been duped, so I got online to find out more about Amber.

Apparently, there is a LOT of plastic being sold as Amber these days, and my first impulse was to believe I was one of the suckers. But I went ahead and did all the tests that determine the difference. They seemed so interesting that I actually made the task into a school project for my 6-year-old son, who LOVES science, and was only too happy to help me (especially since it was near his bedtime and he's wise enough to know a project might buy him some time). So we did the following tests:

1. Alcohol. Amber's un-fossilized cousin, Copal, dissolves in alcohol, but Amber does not . My chips passed the alcohol test.
2. Scratch. Amber is soft, and will be scratched by a pin. Glass and most plastics cannot be scratched. My chips passed the scratch test.
3. Density. Amber will float in salt water; plastic will not. My chips passed the density test.
4. Electromagnetism. Amber, when rubbed hard with a cloth, will create static electricity that will pick up bits of paper. Plastic usually won't do that. My chips picked up the paper just fine.
5. Shaving. Amber, when shaved with a knife, comes off in tiny brittle flecks and powder, whereas plastic comes off in tiny intact shavings. My chips split into powder.
6. Smell. This test was the most fun and the most confusing. All the other tests pointed to Amber, but this one I just couldn't tell. When Amber is heated with a hot pin, it gives off a piney incense smell. Plastic smells like plastic. I tried this test, and let's just say the smell wasn't like any incense I've had before. It was very strong, acrid, VERY piney, but I think the strength threw me off and had me confused. I did this test many times. I even got some Copal incense and compared the smells. My chips were similar to this, as Amber should be, but still very sharp. After about an hour of pondering, I finally got the BRILLIANT idea to actually burn a real honest-to-goodness plastic bead! (Why didn't I think of this earlier?) So I burned a plastic bead and...Oh my goodness. THAT was a plastic smell. Just horrible. So distinct. And when I burned another of my Amber chips, the pine incense smell was QUITE noticeable! So I think I have my answer!
7. The Rub Test. My final test, for kicks, was to rapidly rub my beads over a cloth. When faced with warmth and friction, true amber gives off a sweet incense smell. So I rubbed and...MMmmmm. Yes, this is real amber!

So.....Anyone wishing for true amber, complete with pretty smells, at a reasonable price, search no farther! I anticipate this being a good seller, so if we are low by the time you take a look, just drop me a line saying you'd like more, and I'll gladly get more. And, when you get your beads, be sure to rub them against a cloth to get the fabulous fragrance!

Suzanne