Amber - Fanø's gold

The raw and unprocessed amber does not look like much, but when polished it becomes the most fantastic jewellery. The 30-50 million years old fossil resin, is getting washed up at the beach after a stormy weather, where the sea brings the amber up from the seabed.

Amber is easily mistaken for rocks due to the yellow and brown colours, however, amber is a much lighter material and if bitten, it feels much different from stones.

How to find amber?
When the weather has been stormy for a few days from the west or south west, the circumstances for finding amber is the most favourable.

Amber is best found in running water. Most amber drift onto the beach with seaweed and half decomposed pieces of wood that float like amber. Many collectors seek the amber in shallow water.

What is amber?
Amber (C10H16O) is the fossilised resin of particular Golden Larch (Pseudolarix amabilis). The world's oldest amber is 235 to 231 million years old and it is found in Austria and Bavaria. Denmark's oldest amber can be found on Bornholm and is 170 million years old. Amber, when is found washed up on a beach, is considered to be finer than that which has been dug out of the ground. If you are lucky, you can find fossils of insects in amber nuggets. Amber can burn, thus giving a lovely scent. When rubbed, amber produces static electricity. When amber is used for jewellery, it is often heated and then sanded and polished. Depending on which heating method you use, you can create different colours and cracking patterns. It is said that amber jewellery is best when worn. Contact with skin keeps amber finely polished, while it becomes dull and boring when left in a drawer.

Opdateret af:
Vadehavskysten, Fanø info@vadehavskysten.dk