Dominican Amber (La Toca Fm. [Mamey Group], 20.43-13.65 Ma)

Small specimen of red-skinned blue amber from the La Toca Mine. Piece weighs 2.4g and measures 26x18x16mm. There are a few dendritic inclusions of moss, and as a whole, the piece is free of fractures and quite clean. The blue fluorescence is caused by certain hydrocarbons (i.e., perylene) that formed within the resin over its millions of years of burial; fluorescent hydrocarbons in amber are believed to be formed due to several possible factors: fire, geothermal or volcanic heat, prolonged submergence in a marine or lacustrine (lake) environment, etc. This specimen was partially polished and illuminated with 140 lumen LED light (yellow phosphor).