Colour me wild

Before I begin this week8217;s journey, I would like to take a walk down history lane.

When it comes to Amber, no two pieces are alike!

Before I begin this week8217;s journey, I would like to take a walk down history lane. There was a Roman Emperor Nero who once sent a knight to bring hundreds of pounds of what they called 8216;Gold of the north8217; as it matched his wife8217;s hair and enhanced her eyes. The warmth of the golden pebbles that stirred Nero8217;s soul was Amber. Staggering variety of colours, variations in translucency plus that no two natural pieces are alike contribute to its appeal. Named after Ambres, the Celtic Sun God, amber is available in mostly golden hues. It8217;s a vascular tissue of tree that exudes during radical climate change or injury. This vegetative origin gem has the singular ability to encapsulate anything, mostly pieces of flora and fauna it comes in contact with. This 8216;Time Capsule8217; has helped the world8217;s scientific community in morphological analysis and identifying nearly 214 plant specimen and 1,000 extinct insect species. It is the softest and lightest in weight of all gems. Amber occurs in over 256 identified shades from nearly black brown, red, green, orange, yellow, cream, white and rarely in blue and violet. Amber stores static electricity. One may rub amber and see how it removes lint from clothes.

Amber has been historically associated with its preservative, healing and symbolic properties. Egyptians revered it as the vessel of eternal youth probably owing to its desiccant properties and is found in their tombs like Tutankhamen8217;s Tomb. Lithunians called it their 8216;Sunshine Stone8217; and used an amber neck piece to protect their kids. Latvians exchanged wedding bands in amber to ensure eternal bond. Chinese displayed their wealth by burning huge chunks of amber that exudes a pleasant resinous fragrance and aromatic smoke. Amber incense was also burned in churches. Various cultures esteem amber as a stress buster and in providing mental clarity. Today, it is a much-admired gem by jewellery lovers world over.

Scientific evidence reveals the oldest amber to be originally from Carbon time and is 345 million years old. Amber is found in all continents barring the pole regions. Today most of it is sourced from the Baltic region finest and rarest and the Dominican Republic natural varied colours and blue. Fakes are aplenty in the market and one must be careful. Amber is warm against the skin. True Amber is light enough to float in soft water like soap suds would i.e, not to the top. Pick one that brings out your eyes. Happy hunting!

The writer is a city-based researcher specialising in jewellery art and can be contacted at sameeraahaan02gmail.com