What Is Green Amber? And How to Tell Real Amber from Fake

Natural stone and amber pieces from our collection

Here's a fact that surprises most people: amber isn't a stone. It's fossilised tree resin — sticky sap that oozed from ancient forests and hardened over millions of years. Baltic amber, the world's most famous source, is roughly 40 million years old. That's why amber sometimes contains perfectly preserved insects and plant fragments: they were trapped in the sticky resin before it fossilised, which is exactly the premise Jurassic Park borrowed.

What makes green amber different?

Most amber is honey-gold to cognac coloured. Green amber — with its mossy, forest-glass glow — is far less common, and here's the honest part most sellers skip: while naturally greenish amber exists, much of the vivid green amber in jewellery is genuine Baltic amber that has been heat-treated (carefully baked in an autoclave) to develop and deepen the green tone. It's still real, ancient amber — the treatment enhances colour, the same way most sapphires on the market are heat-treated. Golden "sun spangle" inclusions — little disc-shaped sparkles inside — are also a signature of heated amber, and many people love them.

How to tell real amber from fake

Amber is widely imitated with plastic and glass. Useful home checks:

Test Real amber Fake
Salt water float (loose beads) Floats in saturated salt water Most plastics and glass sink
Static test Rubbed on wool, attracts tiny paper bits Weak or no static
Warmth Feels warm, light for its size Glass feels cold and heavy
UV light Fluoresces blue-ish under UV Usually inert

Skip the popular "hot needle test" — it works (real amber smells of pine, plastic smells chemical) but it permanently damages the piece.

Caring for amber

Amber is soft — around 2–2.5 on the Mohs scale, softer than a fingernail is hard to gemstones' standards — so treat it gently: store it separately so metal and harder stones can't scratch it, keep it away from perfume, hairspray and cleaning chemicals (resin absorbs them), and clean only with a soft damp cloth. Never use ultrasonic cleaners or silver dip on amber jewellery.

Why we love it

Every piece of amber is a 40-million-year-old time capsule with inclusions and internal landscapes no other piece shares. Our green amber pieces pair that ancient character with 18K gold-plated sterling silver — and as always, the product page tells you exactly what you're getting.