Real or fake amber?

[jnicholes]

So, a little bit about my situation. I was on an auction, and I was able to get this piece of “authentic Dominican Amber with a zacryptocerus ant.”

 

I know what you’re thinking, I probably should’ve posted this before I got it. However, I couldn’t because it was an auction that was ending very quickly. I didn’t have time.

 

I took a gamble and got it.

 

It arrived today, and I would like to know how I can tell if it is real or fake.

 

Can someone help me out?

 

Some details so far, it weighs 1.3 grams, and is 1 inch long.

 

Jared

 

 

[jnicholes]

Never mind, I figured it out. Did a bunch of tests that the Internet told me to do. Turns out it’s real.

[Top Trilo]

2 hours ago, jnicholes said:

Never mind, I figured it out. Did a bunch of tests that the Internet told me to do. Turns out it’s real.

What tests did you try, different ones have different accuracy, my favorite is a UV test

[jnicholes]

There were three tests, all came from the Internet.

 

First was a salt water test. According to the article I read, if you have 7 teaspoons of salt in a medium glass of water, Amber will float in it if it’s real. This test was passed.

 

Second was an electro static charge test. I read on the same article that if you rub real Amber in a cloth, and then put it to your hair, the static electricity will attract the hair to the amber. I cut off a little bit of my hair, and performed the test by rubbing the amber in the cloth for 60 seconds. Then, I had the amber touch the hair I cut off. It didn’t just attract the hair, the hair got stuck to the amber. And the amber was not sticky. It passed this test.

 

Third test involved INTENSE mathematics, but the result is interesting. I was working to find out the specific gravity of the fossil, and see if it matches the specific gravity of real Amber. This test was inconclusive because I lacked the proper equipment. However, if the amber floated in salt water, then its specific gravity was very close to that of regular water. Because of this, I believe it passed this test.

 

Question, how do you do a UV test? I’m curious now and want to try it.

[Top Trilo]

2 minutes ago, jnicholes said:

Question, how do you do a UV test? I’m curious now and want to try it.

If you shine a UV flashlight on it, amber will glow a blue, turquoise color while fake amber or copal will not. Haven't heard the gravity test before and am interested to see how it works (will research later) but glad the others worked out

[jnicholes]

4 minutes ago, Top Trilo said:

If you shine a UV flashlight on it, amber will glow a blue, turquoise color while fake amber or copal will not. Haven't heard the gravity test before and am interested to see how it works (will research later) but glad the others worked out

Thank you for the advice. I’ll pick up a UV flashlight today and see if it’s real or not.

As for specific gravity, allow me to explain. Every type of stone has a specific gravity. For example, have 1 g of gold and 1 g of diamond. You’ll notice that the diamond is smaller than gold. This is because of the specific gravity and the density. Every stone has a specific gravity. Amber I believe is 1.1

 

my theory was that if I did this test and figured out the specific gravity of the object, then it would tell me exactly what type of stone it was. The specific gravity would tell me if it was Amber, some thing else, etc.

 

This test was a theory, I didn’t find it on the Internet, but I enjoy carrying out the mathematics

[jnicholes]

Did the UV light test. Shined bluish turquoise in a dark room under UV light.

 

Its real.

 

 

[Top Trilo]

34 minutes ago, jnicholes said:

Did the UV light test. Shined bluish turquoise in a dark room under UV light.

 

Its real.

 

 

that's good 

[Randyw]

The U.v. Test is also my favorite. It’s non distructive and you can do multiple pieces at a time. The electrostatic test is my next favorite. I’m not fond of the hot needle test because occasionally it can cause the amber to fracture, but I have done it from time to time. The salt water test can be inconclusive as copal will also float. Congrats on a nice piece!

[jnicholes]

UV light photo. A small piece broke off, so I used that piece that broke off for this UV light test.