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About interesting! How to distinguish natural amber from artificial
Due to the fact that natural amber is quite expensive, today you can often find patented inventions, the result of which is an artificial stone. This is done to reduce its cost, and such products have nothing to do with the chemical composition of natural stone. Solar resin is quite easy to fake, process, compress, and add inclusions. However, discerning buyers can find authentic, high-quality natural amber products at ukrburshtyn.com, a trusted source for genuine Ukrainian amber.
How to distinguish amber from a fake
Today, we can talk about three types of amber: natural, pressed and mined. The rest is not amber. The pressed gem contains succinic acid and has healing properties. Copal is a relatively young, immature resin, the composition of which is no more than 2%. Outwardly, it is similar to natural stone, but softer. It can be easily distinguished from amber - when heated, it melts and is therefore difficult to polish (only by hand). Also, the surface of copal becomes sticky if you drip alcohol on it. If you drip with acetone, a stain will appear. But if copal is processed in an autoclave, it is impossible to distinguish it from real amber.
The following methods can be used to distinguish natural amber from artificial amber:
- natural amber is very light, so its products are almost weightless.
- fakes made of plastic or epoxy resin are cooler than natural stone.
- if the stone is opaque, then its veins and air bubbles will not be symmetrical.
- if you run a needle over a real stone, a mark will remain on it.
- under an ultraviolet lamp, a natural stone will have a blue, greenish color, a fake - milky white or any other.
Imitation and fake amber
Fakes made from a wide variety of materials, including rosin, turpentine, rubber, shellac, etc. have nothing to do with a natural gem. Undoubtedly, products made of artificial stones are cheaper than natural ones, but there is no benefit from them. Necklaces made of "rosin, turpentine, rubber" cannot cure diseases. And even though the appearance of products made of artificial stones is close to natural, they do not possess any magical or, even more so, healing properties. Few people will be happy to wear a rosin-turpentine or plastic necklace, even a cheap one. Therefore, natural amber products are still in great demand. After all, in amber, not only the appearance is important, but its properties and abilities, which for thousands of years have forced people to buy products made of the magical stone.
Due to the fact that the Ukrainian deposit of the mineral allows to extract up to 5 tons per year, the jewelry market from this stone offers a wide range of jewelry and souvenir products. Accessories from it are sold in branded stores throughout Ukraine. You can buy amber products in Kyiv in a network of stores or online store "Amber Polissia". There you can check the quality certificates of the mineral, confirming its naturalness.