Amber
Amber is the petrified fossil resin of coniferous trees. The stone has many different shades - from white, yellow-golden to greenish-brown. Occur as transparent varieties, often containing inclusions of insects and plant remains, and matte, filled with the smallest air bubbles. Amber transparent is more fragile than opaque. There are about two hundred and eighty varieties, from "sea" to "earth", which are found on the Amber bank. Transparent and matte nuggets are sorted in order to reveal the so-called "bastards", combining both of these properties. On the watery-transparent they say that they are "the color of ice", whitish-matte pebbles are called "bone", in general, the shades of amber are no less than the colors in the spectrum. Some minerals can even provide amber with a special silvery tide.
Amber has a hardness of 2-2,5. It is scratched with a fingernail, and harder varieties - with copper and iron objects, it is easily processed by files, saws with small teeth, shtihilyami, scabers and other steel tools.
At a temperature of 150 degrees Celsius, amber becomes plastic, and at 260-310 degrees Celsius begins to melt. This property makes it possible to fuse together small pieces of amber, crumbs, sawdust and from the obtained stone to make various ornaments. The stone is an exceptionally good electrical insulator.
People gave amber, whose age was estimated at millions of years, miraculous properties. Medicines and ornaments from petrified resin were recommended for various diseases. The Roman scholar Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) was convinced that amber amulets protect against prostate and mental illnesses.
Polish amber with pumice stone, trefoil, crocus, applied to wood, cloth or felt. Manually polish with a damp abrasive skin. On the cloth circle amber can be polished with chalk, diluted with water and crocus, diluted with oil.
Jewelers make from it rings, beads, bracelets, pendants, brooches, etc.
In the ancient world, a small piece of amber jewelry was often more expensive than a young slave in a slave market, for the delivery of amber to Rome along the Amber Route was fraught with great difficulties.