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Amber

Amber is nature’s time capsule. This fossilized tree resin contains remnants of life on earth millions of years ago.

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Insect Inclusion

This 93.87-gram piece contains a perfectly preserved cricket. It’s from GIA’s collection.

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Free Form

Amber pieces with inclusions are typically polished as free-form cabs.

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Distinctive Luster

Amber is soft and displays resinous to vitreous polish luster.

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Alaskan Beauty

This 8x6x4 cm chunk of Alaskan rough weighs 118.3 grams.

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Trapped in Time

This piece contains numerous insect inclusions, including a mosquito.

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Inclusions Add Value

Pieces with interesting inclusions fetch higher prices than those without.

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Photos (43) Video (2) Gallery (4)

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Treatment Process (4) Enhancement (1) Identification (1)
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Steam-dyed “chicken-fat yellow beeswax” amber.
An 18K yellow gold “Gold Rush” bracelet features garnet, carnelian, citrine, tourmaline, blue topaz, iolite and amethyst. Photo by Sandra Stampfli, courtesy Bahina Jewels
Platinum Crystal in Chatham Synthetic Sapphire 636x358
From left: Amber, blue chrysoprase, jasper with cheetah-like spots, calcite and robin’s egg blue turquoise. Courtesy Jay Walker, curator of the Library of the History of Human Imagination. Photo by Orasa Weldon/GIA.
Lazulite in Quartz
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Treated Amber
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Amber
Amber Cabochon
Free-form Amber Piece
Amber and plastic reactions to illumination.
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All photos remain under the ©Gemological Institute of America copyright and may only be used with permission. More Copyright Information
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Fancy Color Diamond

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Emerald

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Citrine

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