Baltic Amber Colors - Which Is Best?

Baltic Amber comes in lots of colors!

We are often asked this question by our clients who want to make sure they are getting the most “bang” for their buck.  When selecting a necklace for a teething baby for example, you want to make sure you get one that is effective, right?  Right.  We are here to set the record straight for everyone and hopefully shed a little light on the most common misconceptions and misinformation regarding the many different colors of Baltic Amber.  Read on for some great information* about how the information you may have been given could be incorrect!

Imagine amber is an apple - the outer layer is the "bark" and the inner layer is the flesh. It comes in various shades pending how much sediment has occurred over time and also any build up from bark,dirt and bugs etc. The bark layer is the highest in succinic acid - just like the skin of an apple is highest in 

Amber with sediment

nutrients closest to the skin and the skin. This amber is known as Medical Amber - It normally is only found in the darker Cognac and Honey shades as this is the most common color of Amber - its natural state. You occasionally get small fragments of butterscotch also in the skin and this is very very rare as Butterscotch color is hard to come by. It therefore is more expensive to purchase - which is why the misconception of color has been put into the market. The flesh of the Apple is still very good for you but is not as strong and can contain between 4-8% succinic acid. If you cut it up into pieces you would find some pieces contain 4% and others 8% but it can not be determined which have higher contents. It is just depending on the pressure and changes made over 40 million years. The actual bark contains nearly double this. When the amber is then polished it does not take the succinic acid levels away as it already is the inner of the apple - it is just a "prettier" look. If buying RAW nuggets then you are getting the bark and inner of the apple so a higher content. The amber color most common in raw is Cognac and Honey. Champagne/Lemon amber is also common and found in the flesh part of the amber/apple. Cherry amber is heat treated - its the Cognac amber and its treated by a "cement mixer type machine" that heats it up. This does not affect the succinic content as this has been determined by 40 million years of processing. The heating only changes the color composition and creates the darker look. Green Amber is just like buying a Green apple instead of a red one - but there are a lot less of them. Green Amber is filled with sediments and barks and this creates the green color - they are also more expensive to buy. SO when purchasing amber wholesale the Raw Medical Amber is the most expensive, Green and Butter are second and the Cognac, Honey, Champagne and Cherry are all the same.

Example of an infared spectroscopy machine in a lab

Some companies will tell you amber has different healing properties determined by color, some will tell you the lighter is better some the darker. But in all truth every amber necklace is unique. You may buy two cherry and one works really well and one does not or two champagne and have the same issue. Its really luck of the draw. Succinic acid content varies with every piece of amber. The ONLY way to tell these days is by infrared spectroscopy. This can only be tested in a laboratory. All home tests are not 100% reliable due to the technology to produce fake amber.

We hope that helps to clarify a little bit about the different colors of amber and which is "best." Which is your favorite color? Please leave your questions and comments below!  

*Information used with permission