This is a very unique and amazing, polished blue amber from Sumatra, Indonesia that has been handmade into a pendant. The asymmetric diamond-shaped amber is surrounded by intricately wound and wrapped copper wire and is held by an adjustable faux leather neckpiece. You totally have to admire the artistry of the wrapping! The pendant weighs 1.6 oz and measures 3.2” (bale to tip) by 1.7” by 0.8” and under normal light she looks cream, gold and brown, arranged like light clouds on in dark sky. The blue color produced under ultraviolet light arises from her origins … she was formed from the sap of the Hymenaea protera tree, the same tree that contributes the color to Dominican amber. Under ultraviolet light, her amber color becomes kind of an ocean blue! And the little dots you see are tiny bubbles! Please note that the pink is not fluorescent, but rather a reflection from the UV flashlight that I use. She is truly lovely statement-piece pendant!
Hand polishing amber is an act of love taking much time, patience and love. The outer, rough layers are taken off with rough sandpaper and then the amber is smoothed with increasingly less rough sandpaper until the amber glows and can receive a final gleaming polish.
Hymenaea protera is an extinct prehistoric leguminous tree, the probable ancestor of present-day Hymenaea species. Most neotropical ambers come from its fossilized resin, including the famous Dominican amber and now the Sumatran amber. This heritage is what gives the blue amber it’s famous blue color and lovely blue fluorescence. The Sumatran blue ambers are far bluer than the Dominican amber. The Dominican will show the blue fluorescence in sunlight whereas the Sumatran amber is deep blue to begin with in the raw material solely due to its thickness but shows a notable somewhat turquoise-blue when ultraviolet light hits it. The polished Sumatran amber is transparent and features the wondrous golden to red tones, but the same lovely blue color under ultraviolet light.
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Amazing and Unique Polished Blue Amber Pendant