Fish scale amber

Fish scale in amber?

Have you ever seen amber with something resembling fish scales?

If you're curious about what that is, I'll explain it right away, along with how you can achieve such an effect at home.

Well, it's nothing more than microcracks inside the amber. They occur due to high temperature and/or pressure. Ambers are not uniform - they differ in color, chemical composition, and also in the amount of invisible air bubbles or microscopic impurities.

It's all these components that affect the final appearance of each piece.

How to achieve such a transformation?

To obtain beautiful specimens, an autoclave is used - a special machine where various gemstones (not just amber) can be subjected to the effects of temperature and pressure in the presence of different gases.

In home conditions, all you need to do is use salt or sand, sprinkle it on the amber, and put it in an oven (or on a frying pan) heated to about 200-250°C for about 45 minutes (all these values are highly approximate). Additionally, after such a treatment, the amber may become clear, meaning that it transforms from, for example, a dull color referred to among amber enthusiasts as "soap" to transparent (often with a so-called cloudiness inside).

Just remember to let it cool very slowly to prevent any potential cracking...

Is it still amber - of course! However, from now on, we refer to it as modified.

Is it worth it? It's all a matter of taste - some customers love these forms, while for others, succinite (the more scientific name for amber) is only the one without human intervention.

From my own experience, I can say that there are pieces that are so uninteresting (to put it bluntly - ugly) that only a little cosmetic work can save them. And just like with people - it's not worth overdoing it.