Baltic Amber

Baltic amber is not a single organic compound but a complex mixture of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen like recent resin of trees. It is generally composed of 79% C, 10.5% O and 10.5% H. The specific  gravity of amber is low, ranging from 1.05 to 1.2, or slightly higher than water. Its hardness varies from 2 to 2.5 in the Mohs’ scale. Rubbed on wool amber becomes strongly charged with negative electricity and attracts small bits of paper. The influence of oxygen makes amber dark red and brittle. The melting point of amber is about 375 °C.

Amber is commonly yellow to honey colored, but within the range of these hues there are many subtle variations. These are from light yellow to dark brown and greenish and bluish tints and more rarely violet tinges are found. Approximately 250 color varieties of Baltic amber are known. In addition to diversity of colors Baltic amber can be absolutely transparent or completely cloudy. Variations can be found in all ranges within one specimen. Different colors are caused by light refraction in minute gas bubbles or, less often, by stains of minerals or organic debris enclosed in amber.

The largest deposit of Baltic amber is situated in the north and north west of the Samland peninsula, now Oblast Kaliningrad, Russia (former East Prussia). Amber bearing “Blue Earth” is known only on the Samland peninsula in the district of Kaliningrad. Here, these sediments are located almost at sea level, extending in inland direction. Up to the late Middle Ages, amber was gathered exclusively from the beaches. Mining started in 1867, when underground and open-pit mines were erected. After 100 years of mining, roughly 12 to 15 thousand tons of amber was extracted from the Samland mines, the world’s most significant amber deposit. The amber reserves are estimated to many times the amount already extracted. The “Blue Earth” bears such large quantities of amber that, since the end of the 19^th century, amber has been extracted in underground mines and open strip mines, the most important of which is in Palmnicken (now Jantarnyi). Fossil sea urchins, molluscs, and shark teeth give evidence that the 5 to 12 meters thick greenish-gray sandy layers are marine sediments. The “Blue Earth” contains amber of all kinds of colors, sizes, and shapes in an irregular distribution. The amber content is roughly 2.5 kgs per cubic meter of sediment. Several hundred tons of amber are extracted every year.