CARIBBEAN AMBER FROM THE
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

 

                                      The world when Dominican amber was still sap.

*********

Amber is mined in two areas of the Dominican Republic. The first group of mines are located in the mountains north of the city of Santiago. The second group of mines in the area surrounding the town of El Valle, is northeast of the capital of Santo Domingo.

Nasutiform termite (Dominican Republic)

Dominican amber was formed from an extincted species of the genus Hymenaea . Science has determined that this Dominican amber tree is more closely related to a living species found in Africa, ( H. verrucosa ) than any found in the Americas. A variety of organisms have been discovered "trapped" in this amber. Inferences of the composition of the amber forest can be made based on these inclusions. An organism occupies a specific niche in the environment. If an amber insect has living relatives that exclusively feeds on a certain genus of tree, the assumption is that the extinct species also fed upon this genus.

Mosquito (Dominican Republic)

I travel to the Dominican Republic to select amber. I go through each piece and choose only those with complete inclusions. The inclusions are identified and come with a certificate.

Mating minute black scavenger flies (Dominican Republic)   If there are specific specimens you seek, please send your wish list. If you're looking for amber without inclusions, let me know. I'll see what I can do. Contact me for additional information. Moth with eggs (Dominican Republic)

Blue Amber Mines

Is it "amber"?

The year is 1493 A.D. Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage to the West Indies arrives at La Hispaniola. To his surprise, a Taino indian chief offers him a gift of amber. Later, one single mass of three hundred pounds is found.

In 1891, J.G. Haddow writes the words you find at the top of this page, and this information had been published for over 100 years.

But, Alas!, Dominican amber has not been known as much as Baltic amber. Is there a difference between one and the other?

Some Amber is considered to be up to 345,000,000 years old (Northumberland USA). Compared with this, both, Dominican with up to 40 million years (See New York Times, October 29, 2006 ) and Baltic amber, up to 50 mio, They both are "babies" compared with that.

Therefore, if it is not the age, what is it? Baltic amber is "succinite", from resin of coniferous trees. Is contains succinic acid, therefore the name. Dominican Amber is not "succinite" but "retinite". It is fossilized tree resin from an ancient relative of a tropical species called "algarroba" (lat.: Hymenaea Protera). But according to some scientists even this is not very important, but just a result of degradation: Y.Shashoua, National Museum, Denmark, 2002

So, what is the difference? Publicity. Yes, publicity that has been going on for several thousand years, at least since the times of the old Celts.

Although its existence has been known since the descovery of the island "La Hispaniola" by Christopher Colombus, Dominican amber mines are only a major source of amber during the last 50 years. But, because there is not much publicity, uninformed people who have not bought it on a visit to the island, don't even know about it. Seems that some still have to discover the "New World", 500 years after Colombus. Never mind, even some Dominicans don't know about it either. Why? Because there is very little of it.

The outcrop of Dominican amber is much, much less than Baltic amber, therefore it is RARE in the true meaning and not all over the world. See: Blue Amber, how rare? Hence, it is not the amber jewelry you will see in the Supermarket next door or at the flea market in your neighborhood. And - this is VERY important - it is never treated, never "enhanced", just natural amber as it comes from the mines. The real McCoy.

Although there are mines where even young Copal is found, much of the Dominican amber is real, old and hard amber. See Amber Turning Blue and Chemistry of Amber and scientific reference literature at the foot of this page.


Dominican Amber Mine Sites

The main sites in the Dominican Republic are located in La Cordillera Septentrional, in the north, Bayaguana and Sabana, in the east. In the northern area, the amber-bearing unit is formed of clastic rocks, sandstone accumulated in a deltaic or even deep-water environment and offers the oldest and hardest amber.

Since the amber in these mountains is tightly embedded in a lignite layer of sandstone, holes are dug into the sides of the cliffs. The miners accomplish their work only with the help of primitive, simple tools and risk their lives daily. (see: Blue Amber Mining)

There is also some amber in the (south-eastern Bayaguana/Sabana area. But it is softer, sometimes brittle and suffers oxidation after being taken from the mines. And there is also copal found with only an age of 15-17 million years. In the eastern area, the amber is found in a sediment formation of organic-rich laminated sand, sandy clay, intercalated lignite as well as some solated beds of gravel and calcarenite.

Both areas seem to have been part of the same sedimentary basin, but later disrupted by movements along major faults. (Iturralde-Vincent and MacPhee, 1996).

We invite you to a trip to a Dominican amber mine: Dominican Amber Mine
And if you want to see a movie about it, go to: Blue Amber Channel

Dominican amber mines are not open to the common public. In most cases, the access and even the way to the mines is rather dangerous. There is no security or insurance and no reliable guide can be provided. If someone offers himself as a guide, he might not have in mind to give you a great day, but cut himself a deal selling at high prices to a gullible tourist.



Much information about Dominican Amber, its advantages and how it is mined you will find in the book The Amber Forest: A Reconstruction of a Vanished World by George Poinar, Jr., and Roberta Poinar

You might also want to consult Discovering the lost world of the amber forests by the BBC Radio.


Main page J.G. Haddow, 1891 - Click to enlarge


Click to enlarge

BLUE AMBER

Blue Amber 

When natural light strikes Blue Amber on a white surface, the light particles pass right through, and then are refracted off the white surface. The result is the slight blue hue of Blue Amber. When the same natural light particles strike the Amber on a black surface, the light particles don't refract off the black surface, thus refracting off the actual Amber. Hydrocarbons in the Blue Amber turn the sun's ultraviolet light into blue light particles, resulting in the glow of Blue Amber.^[6]
This effect is only possible in some specimens of Dominican amber^[7] category, in some Mexican ambers from Chiapas ^[8] and some ambers from Indonesia.^[2] Any other Amber (such as Baltic Amber) will not display this phenomenon, because its original resin is not from the Hymenaea protera tree.^[9]
The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, produced through a thermal polymerization process initiated via irradiation, relax to their ground state, absorb high-energy ultraviolet photons and re-emit them as lower-energy visible photons, according to the absorbance curve of the particular fluorophore.
Recently, optical absorption, fluorescence and time-resolved fluorescence measurements in Dominican ambers have been reported. These studies show that the "blue" variety reveals an intense fluorescence emission in the visible wavelength region, between 430 and 530 nm, with spectral features which are typical of aromatic hydrocarbons. On the contrary, the Dominican "red" and "yellow" amber varieties have a much weaker and featureless emission, although still do have a certain fluorescence. The process in Blue Amber is surprisingly similar to phosphor.
Although there are several theories about the origin of Dominican blue amber, there is a great probability that it owes its existence to elements such as anthracene as a result of 'incomplete combustion' due to forest fires among the extinct species Hymenaea protera trees about 25 to 40 million years ago.^[10][11]

RAW BLUE AMBER

Vittorio Bellani and Enrico Giulotto at the University of Pavia, Italy studied several amber specimens by means of optical absorption, fluorescence spectroscopy, and time-resolved fluorescence measurements. The resulting spectral analysis revealed that the spectra of the hydrocarbons are very similar in shape to those of diluted solutions of anthracene, perylene, and tetracene, and suggest that the fluorescent hydrocarbon responsible for the blueness is most likely perylene


 当自然光照射的白色表面蓝琥珀，光粒子通过的权利，通过，然后被折射出去的白色表面。其结果是轻微的蓝色色调的蓝琥珀。当同样的自然光粒子撞击一个黑色的表面上，琥珀色的光粒子不折射黑色表面，从而折射实际琥珀。蓝琥珀的碳氢化合物将阳光中的紫外线光变成蓝色的光粒子，产生辉光蓝琥珀。[6]

这种效果是只可能在一些标本多米尼加琥珀[7]类别，在一些墨西哥恰帕斯州[8]和来自印尼的一些琥珀[2]任何其他琥珀（如波罗的海琥珀）将不显示此现象，因为琥珀原文的树脂没有从Hymenaea protera树。[9]

通过热聚合过程开始通过照射产生的多环芳香烃，放松到其基态，吸收高能量的紫外线光子，并重新发射它们作为低能量的可见光子，根据特定的荧光基团的吸光度曲线。

最近，多米尼加琥珀中的光吸收，荧光和时间分辨荧光测量已有报道。这些研究表明，“蓝色”的各种显示一个强烈的荧光发射在可见光波长区域中，在430和530 nm之间，这是典型的芳族烃的光谱特征。相反，多米尼加的“红色”和“黄色”琥珀品种有一个更弱，无特色的排放，虽然仍然有一定的荧光。蓝琥珀的过程中荧光粉是惊人的相似。

虽然多米尼加蓝琥珀的起源有几种说法，有一个伟大的概率，它欠它的存在的元素，如蒽作为结果的“不完全燃烧”，由于之间的灭绝的物种Hymenaea protera的的树木约25至森林火灾4000万年前

Translated in chinese 宝石的愈合联系方式

宝石的愈合联系方式：+27 725995171 +27 722098594 | info@gemsforhealing.co.za

 琥珀（发音时柏迪）是50万年前的旧的，僵化的树液（树脂）从史前的松树林。被认为已经发布了SAP作为抵御真菌和虫害的松树。分子在SAP交联，最终形成天然的“塑料”我们今天所知道的。很多时候，琥珀化石昆虫，哺乳动物的毛发和其他​​有机物质。饮片含有这种物质通常被认为是更有价值的，特别是当比那些没有被保留整个有机体。设计与琥珀设计的可能性燃烧发光，火热的琥珀。无论是在下降，块，片，椭圆形或轮琥珀色，可搭配金色或银色的，几乎任何其他宝石。温暖的效果，结合琥珀橙红色宝石，如玛瑙，红碧玉，红东陵。引人注目的吸引力，替代琥珀下降与黑玛瑙圆粒。其他丰富的称赞琥珀的宝石，紫水晶，翡翠，彩虹萤石，石榴石。炼骨珠木材尝试用琥珀块，分离的串珠段的交替3英寸和4英寸长的金链，穿了一倍多层次的光，最喜欢的黑色礼服或褪色的牛仔裤。为什么要限制这种宝石珠宝？点燃黄色的内发光，使晃来晃去的太阳捕手或帷幔边缘的。太阳捕手，挂琥珀下降的基础和明确的Accu-FLEX®专业品质的Accu-FLEX®琥珀等宝石（如紫水晶，石榴子石，橄榄石）到各种各样的串珠线，串。循环的顶端和吸钩挂，或轻轻指甲上窗台。帷幔边缘，用白色Nymo®玻璃珠线程字符串4毫米面的琥珀轮在2 - 3英寸股。杭琥珀色大小不等的泪水，在该基地的链。连接环跳，每一条链的顶端。皮尔斯的价一个大的缝纫针，推环跳，通过在织物上的孔。这面的边缘将设置你的普通窗，波光粼粼的太阳光点燃！石的力量形而上特性琥珀被认为是吸收负面能量，，释放明亮，舒缓能源，有助于平静神经和盘活处置。不同颜色的琥珀经常被用来上相应颜色的脉轮，方便开启和清洗。黄色琥珀被用于传统的自然治疗师，以减轻胃和肝脏的问题。琥珀也被用来从历史上看，作为护身符的勇气和自信，而被认为是带来好运的战士在战斗中。在一些文化中，黄色象征着重建的结婚誓言是用来保证承诺

Amber

 

Gems For Healing Contact Details: +27 725995171 | +27 722098594 | info@gemsforhealing.co.za 

  

Amber (pronounced am-bur) is 50-million-year-old, fossilized tree sap (resin) from prehistoric pine forests. The pine trees are thought to have released the sap as a defense against fungus and insect infestation. The molecules in the sap cross-linked, eventually forming the natural ''plastic'' we know today. Often times, amber will contain fossilized insects, mammalian hair and other organic matter. Pieces containing this material are generally considered more valuable than those without, especially when the entire organism is preserved.

Designing with Amber

Luminescent, fiery amber is blazing with design possibilities. Whether in drops, chunks, chips, ovals or rounds amber can be paired with gold or silver and almost any other gemstone. For a warm effect, combine amber with other orange-red stones like carnelian, red jasper or red aventurine. For striking appeal, alternate amber drops with black onyx rondelles. Other fabulous gems that compliment amber are amethyst, jade, rainbow fluorite, and garnet. Try mixing bone and wood beads with amber chunks, separating the beaded segments with alternating 3-inch and 4-inch lengths of gold chain, and wear doubled or multi-layered to light-up that favorite black dress or faded jeans.

Why limit this gem to jewelry?

Ignite amber's inner glow by making dangling sun catchers or valance fringe. For sun catchers, hang an amber drop for the base and, using clear Accu-Flex® Professional Quality Beading Wire, string an assortment of amber and other gems (such as amethyst, garnet, and peridot) onto the Accu-Flex®. Loop the top end and hang from a suction hook or lightly nail onto sill. For valance fringe, use white Nymo® beading thread to string 4mm faceted amber rounds in 2- to 3-inch strands. Hang amber teardrops of varying sizes at the base of the strand. Attach jump rings to the top of each strand. Pierce the valance with a large sewing needle and push the jump ring through the hole in the fabric. This faceted fringe will set your ordinary window ablaze in shimmering sunlight!

The Power of the Stone

Metaphysical Properties

Amber is thought to help absorb negative energy and to release bright, soothing energy, helping to calm nerves and enliven disposition. The different colors of amber are often used on the chakras with corresponding colors to facilitate opening and cleansing. Yellow amber has been used traditionally by natural healers to alleviate stomach and liver problems.

Amber has also been used, historically, as a talisman for courage and self-confidence, and was thought to bring good luck to warriors in battle. In some cultures, amber symbolizes the renewal of marriage vows and is used to assure promises