Polished Amber Beads
How Amber Baby Teething Necklace Beads Are Made
Things you should know about how small amber beads for baby teething necklaces are made
The amber of choice for soothing pain is Succinite otherwise known as Baltic Amber. It is chosen because of all the ambers in the world, succinite contains the most succinic acid. Succinic acid is the active ingredient for soothing pain.
Small chips of raw amber are sorted, as best as possible, by color.
This is picture of raw amber chips. The chips are randomly shaped, have sharp edges, without drill holes.
Raw amber chips are often drilled, put on strings and used as health and pain soothing necklaces. Such necklaces are the most effective because they have the most succinic acid.
They are the classic health necklace and in past times were used as baby teething necklaces as well as adult jewelry and health necklaces.
Modern day teething necklaces are made with amber that does not have the sharp edges. In other words they are made with beads.
Beads are not natural. They are not found in nature. Man makes the beads by processing raw amber.
The International Amber Association, Gdansk Poland, has classifications for processed amber.
It is important that you understand those classifications. Read this information. Classification Of Amber
For you to understand the remainder of this discussion you must read the information above.
Beads for baby teething necklaces are shaped by putting them in a tumbler with a polishing medium. Polishing medium removes the sharp edges and surface of the raw amber.
Once the raw amber chips had the surface removed and is shaped into a bead it is no longer raw amber. If there is no further processing it is classified as natural Baltic amber. But it is not raw amber.
In short, a shaped amber bead is not raw amber.
The amount of polishing determines the final look and ability to transfer succinic acid of the beads.
Some beads are highly polished. They are Natural Baltic amber.
Some beads are shaped but not highly polished. They are Natural Baltic amber. They are generally called in the amber industry “burnished beads”. They are not called raw amber beads because there is no such thing as a raw amber bead.
Below are pictures of the raw amber chips drilled to be strung, a burnished or lightly polished amber bead, and the normal polished amber bead used with most baby teething necklaces.
All three are Natural Baltic amber. All three have the exact same IRS spectral curves.
Because succinic acid is generally concentrated near the surface of the piece of amber, there will be more succinic acid available to transfer to the body the less a piece of amber is polished.
The raw amber chip will be most effective. Here is a picture of a necklace made from raw amber chips.
The burnished bead necklace will be on the second level of effectiveness. Being shaped but not highly polished leaves them with a higher surface area. The higher the surface area the more succinic acid can be transferred over a given time frame.
Here is a picture of a baby teething necklace made with burnished beads.
Note that uninformed people and those who increase their sales by deceiving buyers as to the real makeup of the beads, call these “raw beads”. They are not raw. They are lightly polished or burnished. Advertising them as raw beads is deceptive and fraudulent.
Polished bead necklaces, the most attractive, and bought by those who are is much interested in having jewelry for the child as providing pain relief, have the least surface area. Polishing closes the pores and there is less succinic acid to be transferred over a given time frame.
Once the beads are polished to the degree that the manufacturer wishes, they are separated by color and then drilled.
Because the dark cherry color is not natural, and can only be achieved by heating the amber, some beads are heated to the point that the amber changes color.
These heated beads are succinite. Genuine Baltic amber. There are IRS spectral curve is identical to that of unheeded beads. They are medical characteristics are not changed. Only the color changes.
Buying Beads
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