What is Baltic Amber?

Baltic Amber (succinite) is a fossil that dates back to the period from 37-42 million years ago. During that period the tree resin hardened and weathered, which created the unique charm of the Baltic Amber.

At the time when amber was being formed, a land mass called Fenno-Samatia covered what is now Scandinavia, while present-day Europe lay underneath the Thetys sea. The sap was carried inland by the River Eridan and deposited in its delta: the present Bay of Gdansk. It is here that the largest deposits of amber are found.

The simplest and oldest method of acquiring amber was by collecting it on a beach. Huge amber deposits are located below the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Amber stones are thrown out by waves during storms. In the past, people used to pick amber stones using special nets. Another method of collecting amber was 'rummaging' - people used to search the Baltic bottom from their boats with long sticks. Amber stones lay on the seabed, covered by sand and rocks, and when uncovered, floated in the salty water.

There are some amber mines in the Ukraine, often just holes surrounded by wooden planks. There are also bigger Amber quarries (working on the surface), which produce the biggest yield of amber - miners use pumps to force water underground, then use nets to catch the floating amber stones.

Composition of Amber:

Carbon 61-81 %  Hydrogen: 8.5-11%  Hardness: 2.0-2.5 in Mohs’s scale  Density: 0.96-1.096 (amber floats in salty water)  Melting point: 548.6-572 degrees F.