AMBER SLABS? PLEASE HELP IDENTIFY.

[darrenlueptow]

I found this at a goodwill.

It has an old sticker attached on the inside that appears to say it is Amber.

I'm wondering if someone here can positively identify if this is indeed amber and it's value. I know absolutely nothing about amber.

Many thanks in advance!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[huntsman53]

If it is Amber, then it may have been heat treated and may have been done so to produce handles for knives. See below in bold. However, there are some particularly dark Ambers that come from Indonesia and other locations and could have been heated to remove the air bubbles but it still retained it's natural color. The pieces standing in the 3rd pic that you can somewhat see through, do appear to have the appearance of Amber. As for the value, I really don't know.


Frank


Treatments.....

Heat treatment
Alot of amber contains many gas bubbles that give it a hazy appearence. Slow heating between 150-180° C, followed by slow cooling, can diffuse these bubbles out.
When the cooling takes place too rapidly, typical leaf like stress inclusions form (these are know as "sun spangles") and these inclusions are, more than often intentionally, mistaken for prehistoric leaf inclusions.

Another type of heating involves laying the specimens in a sand filled iron pot and heat it over an extensive period to darken the amber. This gives it an "antiqued" look. Natural amber may darken naturally over time due to air oxidation.

Other treatments
Dying
Coating
Foiling

 

[jamey]

look for bugs in it.

 

[yaxthri]

Heat a pin until redhot and the poke at the backsideof one of the pieces you have. If plastic it will melt, amber will get scorched at the point of contact.
Use this as an auxiliary test.

The best way to determine if it's amber or not is to drop it in a half-full glass of fresh water.
Amber will sink to the bottom, some types of plastic, too but most plastics will float.
If it sinks though, add gradually tea spoons of salt to the water and mix.
If it's amber it will eventually float. 100% fool-proof method, I know amber.