Blue amber is only found in one country: here in the Caribbean, in the Dominican Republic. If you want to buy Dominican blue amber, we as amber gemstone dealer and direct exporter are here directly at the foot of the mountain where blue amber is found with the best contacts into the mine to serve you the best we can. We of AmbarAzul sell Dominican Blue Amber and amber gem stones wholesale to you directly from the place of its very origin. Amber jewelry supplier and Dominican blue amber sterling silver jewelry and gold jewelry supplier using Dominican amber directly from the mines, as a manufacturer who offers custom crafted amber semi products and amber and silver jewelry, rough amber and raw amber from the Dominican mines in the Caribbean, amber earrings, amber bracelets, amber rings, amber chains, amber necklaces and blue amber necklaces as well as beads and cabochons and typical Caribbean amber jewelry. There are several theories about the origin of the blue color in blue Dominican amber and it is not fully understood what causes the blue color in Dominican blue amber. We know that it is a result of blue fluorescence and no solid blue color. The best way to test blue amber is placing it under an ultra-violet lamp which intensifies the blue olor to a radiant cobalt-blue. And, we have noticed that blue amber can be recognized by a very agreeable smell. One theory links the color in Dominican blue amber to the occurrence of volcanic ash or dust which was present when the resin was first pressed out from hymenaea protera millions of years ago. And - of course - besides the blue Dominican amber, we also have rough amber in regular amber colors and all those special amber colors like green amber and blood red amber, purple amber, as they are only found in Dominican Amber. Blue amber comes in different shades of blue. It is difficult to put Dominican Blue Amber into categories, since our Caribbean amber is not an industrial product. In the lower quality (regular blue amber), the blue tone can only really be appreciated under an ultra violet light source. Then you will find a strong blue reflection in the yellow undertone of Dominican blue amber (strong blue). But there is also something we call "ultra blue amber" which is visible in almost any kind of light. This is extremely rare, hard to get and - of course - the most expensive kind of Dominican blue amber. And - of course - there is everything in between, never the same, because it is the beauty of nature and not a semi-industrial product like reconstituted and enhanced material from some other countries. Amber from the Dominican Republic is renowned for the diversity of fossils and inclusions it contains, the three rare "treasures", which are scorpions, lizards and frogs but also many other "bugs" in amber, like pseudo scorpion, fly, damsel fly, dragon fly, termite in amber. Therfore, we also offer fossil amber with bugs in amber. Our Dominican Blue Amber is the REAL thing, natural amber just the way it comes from the mines. While the mystery around the origin of its color has not been cleared, one thing is sure: Dominican Blue Amber is beautiful and it is extremely rare.
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Physical & Chemical Characteristics:
Amber, as a natural plastic has no consistent chemical formula but consists basically of three elements: Carbon, Oxygen and Hydrogen and sometimes Sulphur in proportion to flora or fauna inclusions it holds.

Although the name "amber" is used more specifically for fossilised resin which contains succinic acid (3 - 8 %), it is commonly applied to any fossilised resin found around the world. Some purists have strong opinions about this matter.

To them, fossilised resin which posses no succinic acid should be classified as retinite. Some even go as far as teaching that true "amber" only should refer to resins of pines (Pinus succinifera) and/or other conifers of the Araucaria Family (Araucariaceae) in the 50 million-year-old Eocene deposits of the Baltic Sea region.

Dominican Republic amber's fossil resin comes from trees of the Hymenaea family (succinic acid), related to the West Indian locust (Hymenaea courbaril). Caribbean amber contains no succinic acid. But the fact is, that even clear Baltic amber usually has lower levels of succinic acid, opaque amber has more. Is clear amber therefore "less amber"?

According to Dr. Jean Langenheim, UCSC, (professor emerita and research professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, who has been studying amber and resins for more than 40 years) the presence of nonterpenoid succinic acid is of little value in characterizing fossil resins.

See Plant Resins: Chemistry, Evolution, Ecology, and Ethnobotany and The Fascinating World of Plant Resins (UCSC). And quite some other scientists have a similar balanced opinions. Find more information at Baltic v/s Dominican Amber.

Basic amber data are as follows:

Color: Yellow, orange, red, brown, gold, almost black (with carbon) and white (creamy). In the Dominican Republic: greenish and also with the typical blue hue.

■ Luster: Resinous

■ Transparency: Transparent to translucent, but also opaque

■ Crystal System: does not apply, amber is amorphous

■ Habits: Include nodules in shales or sandstones and washed up on beaches. In Dominican Republic it is mined

■ Fracture: Conchoidal

■ Hardness (Mohs): 2+ (Dominican (-2)

■ Specific Gravity: 1.05 - 1.09, max 1.30 (extremely light, floats in a 10% salt solution)

■ Other Characteristics: Can be burned, fluorescent usually under UV light. All Dominican amber is strongly fluorescent, blue Dominican Amber is flourescent even without an additional UV light source. Easy to charge staticly (see below)

■ Chemistry: Approx. C10H16O - C10H16O12 - C12H20O - 13C40H64O14

■ Class: Mineraloids

■ Locations: Baltic countries: Prussia (Poland), Baltic Sea, Siberia, Dominican Republic, Burma, Germany, Canada, Venezuela, Mexico, Russia, Romania, Sicily, and less frequent in other countries.

■ Uses: Ornamental, gemstone and semi-precious stone, scientific investigations (i.e. paleontology, fossilology)

■ Origin of the name: from Arabic anbar ambergris

The Greek name for Amber is: electron. Around 600 BC, Greeks found that by rubbing an electron (Amber) against a fur cloth, it would attract particles of straw. For over 2000 years this strange effect remained a mystery. But in the 1600's, Dr William Gilbert investigated the reactions of amber and magnets and first recorded the word 'Electric' in a report on the theory of magnetism.

Isn't it interesting that the words "Electricity" and "Electronic" are related to this beautiful gemstone?

Much information can be found at
The World of Amber
by Susie Ward Aber, Emporia State University
Emporia, Kansas, USA

and at

AMBER HOME, Garry Platt, United Kingdom
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