Information about mining blue amber, why it is blue, how it is found and where you can buy it. There are many questions you might have about blue amber. When is it blue and when isn't it? 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. since fossilized amber was initially found on the shores much like ambergris, the linguistic confusion was complete. In addition, translated ancient documents, particularly those from Pliny the Elder's work Naturalis historia may also pertain t o the origin of the term amber as applied to the fossil resin (for a more complete etymology of the word amber, Dominican 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, aamber cabochons, or amb er cabs, mber 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. The following list of Amber mines focuses on mines in the Cordillera Septentrional, a mountain range located between the coastal city of Puerto Plata and the secret capital of the Dominican Republic, the city of Santiago. There are two main arteries connecting the two cities, one highway taking the long way around the range, while the shortest and scenic road cuts straight through. The scenic road, known as the Carretera Turstica, the Tourist Road, has much history to it and it shows. The former nations dictator Trujillo built a luscious residence alongside it with its own private coffee plantation, and had the famous revolutionists the Mirabal Sisters brutally executed just a kilometer down the road (the incident was depicted in the movie In the Time of the Butterflies, featuring Salma Hayek). 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. Since Dominican amber is found in different mines, the quality varies. The really good stuff c omes from only three or four mines out of the dozen or so available. The difference lies in transparency, color and size, even shape, and ultimately price. For those uninitiated it is easy to mistaken Dominican amber for Dominican amber. Understandably. It takes a trained eye -- better yet, two -- to separate a batch of raw pieces.

Is there fake Blue Amber?

By Alec Corday


Amberos

 Last week it happened again. Two 'amberos' put-putted on their scooter up to our offices and submitted a lovely fist-sized piece of blue amber. As per custom it was still covered in the dirt straight from the mine with only a thumbnail-sized window chipped into it revealing what looked like a purplish blue. The fact that the dirt on the rest of the chunk could not be persuaded to be removed was a dead giveaway. A deep look at the amberos revealed but furtive innocence. This clump was quite obviously a phony. We warned them that if the piece was a fake, we would never buy from them again. Both amberos insisted that this was not the case, this is a real one, how dare you to suggest, what with my honor, blablabla. You could hear their fingers click as they crossed.

Our polisher at first agreed with the amberos: a very nice piece. Then he tried to enlargen the window so we could see deeper into the piece. As he started on the grinding wheel he noticed an odd smell. And then chink! went the blue amber 'window' as it took its leave from the rest of the piece. The whole lump was cheap yellowish/brownish amber and the dirt and blue amber 'window' had been glued on: the Coqui Case.


The Case of the Sticky Frog

 The most common question about fake Dominican amber we get here is concerning copal. eBay is awash in it, some of it claiming Dominican citizenship, and we know that Colombian copal is being sold as Baltic amber. But the truth is that copal posing as amber is the least of our worries. The biggest problem we have with phony amber is the Coqui Case.

Coqui is the name of a superglue brand in Puerto Rico, which took it from its national symbol of a sticky frog (no pun intended) that likes to climb up walls and rain on unsuspecting tourists. The brand name stuck (okay, pun intended).

Glueing Blue Amber Since it dries to a rock-like consistency it is used by sneaky amberos to coqui blue amber chips to ordinary amber. Sometimes larger pieces of amber that broke apart during mining are coqui -ed back together and polished until the crack is nearly invisible and covered with dirt.

Another blue amber trick is chipping a window into a possible blue amber candidate to see if blue comes visible. If it doesn't, then a different side is chipped, so long until a blue side is found. The other none-blue windows are then covered up with dirt and - yes, you guessed right - coqui. This piece then looks like a blue amber piece because one side happens to be blue. Upon polishing, however, it proves to be ordinary amber.


The Case of the Lost Impostor

 Another aspect is the act of sneaking a cheapy in with the good stuff. An old peddlers trick and you got to be aware of it. A scruffy yellow amber may at times be added to a stash of blue amber, or a few pieces with nothing but dirt as enclosures may be shoved in with the good enclosures in the hopes that the buyer will not notice it. And when the keen buyer does, then the reaction is either ''oh dear, how did that get there?'' or a head-on, in-your-face denial, come hell or high water this is a real enclosure, see, see? That's a bug! -- As if the power of suggestion was enough to convince us.

Since Dominican amber is found in different mines, the quality varies. The really good stuff comes from only three or four mines out of the dozen or so available. The difference lies in transparency, color and size, even shape, and ultimately price. For those uninitiated it is easy to mistaken Dominican amber for Dominican amber. Understandably. When it is too cheap to be true...well, it is.

Different Blue Amber Mines It takes a trained eye -- better yet, two -- to separate a batch of raw pieces. Again the Nasty Amber Boys will mix the mines of origin to suit their needs and claim a single provenance for a higher price. They even cover the cheaper pieces with dirt from the good mines, so it looks as if it came from the good mine. Blue amber for example from some area will look wonderfully blue or purple, but after a few months in the fresh air loose the blue coloration and become boring blond.

Very unsporting, specially considering that the customer will only notice it when it is already too late. Only imagine, if they try to do this to us who are well known on the local market as the largest blue amber buyers, what must they be doing to one-time visitor.


The Case of the Necklace

 We have been talking about the raw material so far, but what about jewelry? Is it possible to fake it?

Faking Blue Amber All amber can be 'enhanced'. Much Baltic amber for example is liquefied (cleared, autoclaved, boiled, pressed it into shape, or other form of reconstruction etc.etc.) and supplemented with coloration -- a far cry from the luminescent blue or green of Dominican amber.

But the Dominican Amber jewelry producers have not yet reached this 'artistic' level. Which is not negative, by any means. Here you still know that you will get the REAL thing, colors designed by Mother Nature. (What a lady!)




Instant Gratification

 There is just something about facing an ambero when you know you are dealing with a shenanigan: the flapping puppy-dog eyes, the sinless shadows, that immaculate smile that seems to say ''Who? Meeeee?'' while they shove the bogus bagatelle in your face and speak of honor and respect. Any decent Klingon would have had their heart on a platter.

I can only attribute the will to sell the piece anyhow to the Philosophy of Instant Gratification: better to have a stack of nice bills for that trinket now and who cares about the future anyway. Some of the crooks are so good that even honest amberos with a lot of experience have been fooled.

Also, a vast gray zone exists for some who are just a little bit dishonest if an opportunity calls for it and the blue-eyed "gringo" or other unaware stranger innocently happens to stumble their way.

Buying at the mine Nevertheless, over the years, some of the Dominican amber community have understood that they fare better with us run-of-the-mill buyers if they play fair.

Honesty breeds repeat business, and repeat business bestows moolah. A protection is to know well your sources and buying as directly as posible instead of using a network of dealers.




Our Purchasing Office















Atlas Shrugged Off

 It's a different story on ''The Internets''. Here knavery is elevated to an art form and the 1rst Amendment is live ammunition. The underlying business philosophy for many seems to be not so much 'open source', but rather an objectivistic rational egoism along the lines of 'every man for himself'. Ayn Rand would be proud.

Sources such as eBay being flooded with cheap amber shows just how far some people will go to dip into the amber business and sell 'cooked' pieces or copal as pure amber, be it from the Baltic, Colombia, Dominican Republic or, for all we know, MiddleEarth.

In this case, the best way to protect yourself from shams is doing research before buying a shady piece on eBay and/or relying on known and trusted suppliers. Online groups of amber experts can also help in identifying real amber, as well as the enclosures therein. And Blue Amber? Let me just take this as an opportunity to plug ambarazul.com, the world's leading Blue Amber supplier.

Seriously though, we got some nice pieces.

All right. Enough horn-blowing.

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Blue Amber Information :


Other References :

ince Dominican amber is found in different mines, the quality varies. The really good stuff c omes from only three or four mines out of the dozen or so available. The difference lies in transparency, color and size, even shape, and ultimately price. For those uninitiated it is easy to mistaken Dominican amber for Dominican amber. Understandably. 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, aamber cabochons, or amb er cabs, mber 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. by Alec Corday Santiago, November 2005 Bugs, feathers, plants and lizards. Plenty of them doing time in amber. Obviously they can be fit into a respective evolutionary pattern, which then should correlate to a certain time period in the long history of earthly evolution. Except they dont. Trying to fit amber inclusions into the evolutionary pattern has become a game of hammering the peg into the preconceived hole: sometimes they fit just perfectly, sometimes they don't, sometimes we have to cheat. And sometimes the peg is square and the hole is round and you have to hit hard to make it fit. But how old is Dominican amber, really? Can we take the geological numbers for granite? Where do these preposterous numbers even come from?