About Counterfeit Amber
Understanding the difference between real amber and counterfeit amber is very important for both business and personal reasons.
To many people, amber is something with an amber color. And they can be fooled by amber colored resins.
That is simple to do because amber is a petrified resin itself.
Counterfeit amber takes many forms. The most common is a clear plastic resin made into a bead. Such beads are very attractive.
And because the resin is cheap and easily handled, large uniform beads can be made.
Necklaces made of these beads sell very well. And the beads also sell well to those who demand raw amber beads and who do not want to know that they do not exist. See Amber Beads.
There are some more outrageous forms of counterfeiting. In the picture you see an insect inside a clear resin. These are sold as amber with insect inclusions. The one in the picture is made in a "factory" in China.
Perhaps a little more subtle is the substitution of amber from South And Central America or Asia for Natural Baltic Amber. The ambers from those regions are less valued than Natural Baltic Amber and sell at a lower price. This price difference makes it easy for traders to dupe those rubes who are concerned only with price or to sell to others who make Polish jewelry knockoffs.
There is really only one way to protect yourself. And that is to know your supplier. About Us
