Green Amber from Ethiopia
Many consumers and gem enthusiasts are most familiar with yellow and golden amber commonly found in the Baltic Sea region and the Dominican Republic. However, the gem can also be white, orange to red, or brown. In rare cases, strong fluorescence can give amber a bluish or greenish appearance.
At the Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show, Rainbow King Solomon Mines showed the authors some rare green amber said to be from the Amhara region of Ethiopia. The selection consisted mainly of large tumbled pieces with a yellowish green to greenish yellow bodycolor, visible flow structure and bubbles, moderate to heavy inclusions, and numerous brown discolorations (figure 1). A few pieces contained sizable insect inclusions as well. The exhibitor presented a limited amount of experimental faceted pieces (figure 2), but these were not for sale. The faceted pieces showed a surprisingly high luster and brilliance, as well as fiery flashes of orange and green colors. Because of the material’s dark tone, prominent brown discolorations, and relative abundance of biological inclusions—no samples were tested by the GIA laboratory—the authors believe it was natural, compared to the green autoclaved copal previously described by Abduriyim et al. (“Characterization of ‘green amber’ with infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy,” Fall 2009 G&G, pp. 158–177).
The discovery of Ethiopian amber deposits is relatively recent, with orange to yellow amber most commonly found. Compared to other amber sources, the occurrence of green amber in Ethiopia is more prevalent but still rare overall and limited to certain localities. The amber observed at the Pueblo show matches the characteristics of the highly bio-included green amber described in detail by Bouju and Perrichot (“A review of amber and copal occurrences in Africa and their paleontological significance,” BSGF - Earth Sciences Bulletin, Vol. 191, 2020, article no. 17).
