Amber: Russia’s ‘eighth wonder of the world’

A Lithuanian woman sells natural stone amber - Bernstein.

Monowara Begum Moni

Amber is fossilized resin of ancient conifers that grew more than 40 million years ago on the territory of modern south of the Scandinavian Peninsula and adjoining part of the Baltic Sea bed.

Amber is not a rock or gemstone. It is actually fossilized tree resin and can be found in many regions throughout the world. Baltic amber is specifical amber from the area near the Baltic Sea, including areas in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, just to name a few. Baltic amber contains an Acid called succinic Acid.

The considerable part of the collection includes amber specimens with the primary reasoning behind wearing your Baltic amber jewelry on a daily basis is that Baltic amber simply works best when you wear it regularly. The inclusion of animal and plant-remains that were stuck in liquid viscous resin about millions of years ago. The inclusions are the things of great interest of scientists due to their variety and very good preservation.

Collection and trade of amber in the Baltic region for ornamental uses is believed to have begun some 6,000 years ago, during the Neolithic period. Amber was regarded as a valuable trading commodity for its decorative qualities and for its use as fuel for fires.

Amber trade routes extended from the Baltic through the continent to southern Europe and the Arabian Peninsula.

The nature endowed amber with incredible richness of colors. There are bright yellow, reddish pieces reminding of a tongue of flame, as well as «honey» pieces. There are also «cloudy» pieces – they are sort of hazed with fleecy clouds.

The combination of different trade fairs thrilled the visitors and our variety of topics enchanted the audience,” said Stefan Lohnert, Managing Director of Messe Stuttgart, at the end of this year’s Messe Herbst.

The Amber Room was originally designed in the early 18th Century as an opulent Room constructed as showpiece chamber for Frederick I, the King of Prussia, in Danzig (modern-day Gdansk, Poland) In 1716, the chamber was gifted to the Russian Tsar Peter the Great, and it was eventually moved to the Catherine Palace near St Petersburg.

The end of World War II left the entire Catherine Palace in ruins. The Amber Room was constructed and presented to Czar Peter I of Russia in 1716 and eventually installed in the Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg.

When Nazis invaded Russia in 1941, they dismantled the Amber Room and moved it to Konigsberg castle in what was the German state of Prussia.

By September 1941, the German army had advanced to the outskirts of Leningrad and occupied Pushkin and the Catherine Palace. The Amber Room was a priority for removal because it had been included in the Kummel Report, a list of German-made artworks to be “repatriated” to German soil.

Russian president Vladimir Putin reconstructed the Amber Museum after 23 years, with the help of Ex-German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

How to test for fake Baltic amber? If a piece of amber floats, then it is indeed an authentic amber.

The main reason for wearing your Baltic amber jewelry every day is that Baltic amber simply works best when you wear it regularly.