People tend to attribute mystical properties to precious stones and explain their origin by legends, but none of the natural minerals, probably, evokes such warm feelings as amber. The sunstone could be a champion in sad legends and special recipes for its use - according to most beliefs, it attracts good luck and gives health. The thing is that the properties of amber are really unique, and the number of varieties and colors can surprise even experienced collectors.
It is interesting that most of the myths about amber among completely different peoples play up the theme of tears in one way or another. It is possible that the common teardrop shape of the stones prompted people to this idea. For the ancient Greeks, amber is the frozen tears of the sisters and mother of Phaeton - the reckless son of the sun god who decided to ride across the sky in his father's chariot. In the tragedy of Sophocles, amber is the tears of the deceased hero Meleager, who fell victim to the maternal curse. In the Lithuanian legend about Jurat and Kastytis, the amber tears of the sea goddess about her lost lover become jewels.
Amber is a unique ornamental stone.
Usually, the color of amber ranges from light yellow to dark brown, running through the entire range of sunny shades. However, there are also more rare types of this stone: white, blue and green. Due to the small volumes of their production, the price for such samples is naturally very high.
The unique blue amber is mined in the Dominican Republic.
One of the most expensive types is white bone amber and a pendant made of it "White filling".
Most of the green amber is mined today in Sicily.
Cherry amber was highly prized in China, it was called "Dragon's Blood" there.
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Surprisingly, amber, like a stone of organic origin, burns in the air. At the same time, a wonderful aroma of fragrant resins is released. It is with this property that many of its historical names are associated: the German “Bernstein” is a combustible stone from which the Belarusian-Ukrainian “burshtyn” originated. Most likely, our mythical stone Alatyr, which, as you know, is “white, combustible”, “the father of all stones,” is located on Buyan Island and is the sacred center of the universe - this is also amber. Although in Russia, in the old days, the yellow stone was called elektr or elektron, having borrowed this word from ancient Greek.
Another part of the old names of amber reflects its ability to attract small objects when electrified. So, for example, "kahraba" - the Arabic name for amber, means "thief of straw." The very word "electricity" comes from the ancient Greek name for this stone. And by the way, the name of the famous Latvian company "Dzintars" also means "amber".
The amber melts and burns, giving off a wonderful scent.
Unusual properties of amber make it possible to use it not only for making beautiful jewelry and crafts. This fairly expensive raw material is in great demand in many areas of industry and medicine: until recently, amber electrical insulators were used in instrument making, succinic acid today is a food additive E363, furniture and musical instruments are coated with amber varnish. The Amati and Stradivari violins, for example, are kept and still sound great thanks to him. In medicine, amber has been used since the time of the pharaohs (it promotes mummification), and today, on its basis, drugs are produced that prevent blood coagulation and destruction.
Zhuravlev A. A. Panel * Rus *.
Amber is mined, like centuries ago, in two ways. The most effective is open source development. Everyone knows that the amber capital of Russia is Kaliningrad. It is here that the world's largest open-pit amber quarry and plant is located. Our deposit is the richest in the world. 90% of the world's proven amber reserves are concentrated here. Every year in Kaliningrad, several hundred tons of this beautiful gem are mined and processed.
The world's largest open pit for amber extraction is located in Kaliningrad.
However, amber is truly a magical stone. It is still periodically carried by the waves of the Baltic Sea. Therefore, walking along a well-known beach, one day you can find a precious gift from the sea goddess. For this, probably, amber is also loved. This mining method is also quite effective. A particularly rich catch can be found after a storm. There have been several natural phenomena in history that are called "amber storms". They occur about once every 50 years. The latter, however, was already a hundred years ago - in 1914, and then the sea gave people almost a ton of precious stones!
A 1677 European engraving depicts amber catchers with nets.
Amber is mined in quarries or washed ashore in waves.
