>Home     >Policies    >Resellers     >Artisans  
>Our Project and Fair Trade    >Seeds   >Shop   >Cart

Colombian Amber/Copal

During my last trip to Colombia, we were offered both polished and rough "ambar" (the Spanish word for "amber") mined in the Santander district of Colombia. The mining conditions are difficult, primarily because the area is a "Zona Roja" controlled by the guerrilla forces of FARC or by their para-military opponents. However, the mining is a small-scale operation not under the control of a cartel, and it is  not dangerous in itself. Since pre-Columbian times, ambar has formed part of Colombian jewelry. It has not shared the unfortunate history of Colombian emeralds, whose extraction has been associated with child-labor, virtual conditions of slavery, and an ever-present "mafia." Thus we were intrigued by the possibility of incorporating ambar into our seed jewelry and selling polished pieces through this website to raise funds for the Campohermoso project. If you are interested, please email us at info@seedjewelrycenter.com

Colombian Ambar and Baltic Amber: The better-known Baltic amber is tens of millions of years old, and many of the insects and plants entrapped in it are pre-historic species different from those of today. Thus it has found an active following among collectors of fossils and others fascinated by its extreme antiquity. Colombian ambar is far more recent, dating from perhaps 20,000 years ago to as recent as one hundred years according to some authorities. Entrapped species are not extinct and have little palentological value, although to the non-expert they appear every bit as attractive as the ancient insects found in Baltic amber. Heat and pressure have hardened the original resin although not to the extent of Baltic amber. (The advantage is not completely with Baltic amber in this respect, since Baltic amber is more brittle and shatters more easily.) With respect to physical properties the differences are of degree, with little obvious to distinguish the two. From the aesthetic standpoint, there is also little to be said in favor of one over the other, although the Colombia product is generally more transparent.

Because dealers in Baltic amber fear competition from the more recent Colombian product, with the possibility of its being passed off as Baltic amber, some of them have labeled the Colombian product "copal" (after another Spanish word although one rarely used in Colombia). We believe that Colombian ambar is an appropriate addition to the natural Colombian products offered on this website, and that from a purely aesthetic standpoint there is no advantage to the older Baltic amber. The normal custom in the jewelry trade is to upgrade products through the use of names which confer positive associations: referring to  "cultivated" emeralds in case of synthetic products,  "topaz" and "aquamarine for yellow and blue treated quartz (borrowing names from much rarer gemstones). In this case, the commercial power is on the side of Baltic ambar rather than the locally produced Colombian ambar, hence the opposite has occurred in an attempt to deprive Colombian ambar of its traditional name. The fact is that real collectors and scientists know the difference regardless of names, and those who care principally about ornamental value should be guided by price and appearance not by name. Which is not to defend fraud, but rather to defend commonsense which says Colombia ambar is amber, but of a  more recent type than Baltic amber, and with slightly different physical characteristics.

Baltic amber, Colombia amber, opals, pearls and even most emeralds are relatively fragile gem materials that require special care. In the case of amber, care must be taken to keep it away from a variety of chemicals, from direct sunlight for long periods, and to periodically apply a protective finish.