How Much Does Amber Cost? (Cost Guide)

From an old-fashioned time period, amber has been appreciated for its natural beauty and colour. Amber is a lapidified tree glue or wax.

From the ancient past to the present time, the value of amber increases. It is used as jewellery, decorative objects, and in folk medicine, it is used as a healing agent.

According to amber’s chemical constituents, there are five classes of amber presents. Incorporation of plant material and animals in amber is standard because it originates as the sticky, soft resin of the tree.

Amber is also called resinite because of its occurring in coal. Amber found in New Zealand is known as ambrite.

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How Much Does Amber Cost?

The purchasing cost of amber is about $20 to $40,000 and more. Compared to previous years, the amber from the Baltic state is more available in the market nowadays. We should be thankful to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe for their liberalization in economics. From anywhere, you can find the amber at the cost of $1-$30 per carat. The price may vary as per its inclusion and colour.

Facts that can influence the cost of amber

The elements which make the amber more valuable are roundness, inclusion, the rarity of the colour, transparency, the fame of the region, and smoothness. If the specimen has an inclusion, then the cost is up to $30 and more per carat. Nowadays, the more valuable inclusions are flies, mosquitos, and butterflies.

Inclusion

Inclusion is a primary attribute of amber. Insects are the most popular inclusion, but in some cases, fish bones, plants, and worms are also found inside the amber.

Like the clarity, shape, and inclusion, the history of the gemstone is also an essential character. In some cases, because of the inclusion, the value of amber increases triple the weight of its original.

It is not only incredible but also intriguing for the researchers. Small ambers with inclusion cost up to $30-$40 approx. The bigger ambers can be more than $100. Nowadays, many methods are introduced to make fake ambers, although it is hard to reproduce a form of inclusion.

Things To Take Care Before Purchasing Amber

Using a heating process, small amber pieces are joined together and come as beads. These are used in necklaces and bracelets widely.

The material heats up to 150 to 300 degrees celsius—the shade of the specimen changes to darker brown, which is undesirable.

How Discover A Fake Amber

You have to use a microscope for testing the fake specimen. The sellers make the amber darker by using heat treatment and tell you that the dark colour is more valuable than the yellow one.

The heat treatment is not a faking process, but it usually does to increase the cost. If you want any alterations to the amber, then you can ask the jeweller.

The customized amber costs you more. The treatment by an expert jewellery stylist may charge you $200 per carat.

The extremely low density is another most important characteristic when you evaluate the amber. The density of the stone is less than saltwater.

A carat of ruby, diamond, or other stones is smaller than a carat of amber. Amber is not sold by carats. Generally, it is sold in grams (1gram = 5carats). Keep this in your mind, and do not get fooled by any buyers or sellers.

Amber testing for the value

To know about the authenticity of amber, you can test it. The test is useful, especially for the rarer colours and varieties. To see if it floats or not, put it in the saltwater.

If the stone is not natural, it floats. Ancient people did another test. Amber is used as an ingredient to incense. It produces a thoughtful scent after burning.

In this test, you have to rub the amber for a while to get warm, and if you identify the scent, it is real.

Particular varieties of amber

● The classic variety of amber is Baltic amber. In the Baltic region of underground or beach in the forest of Bulgaria, Greece, Russia, Ukraine, and other countries, amber can be found.

● It can be found in any form of transparent butter colour, deep cloudy, honey gold, any shade of golden yellow, and any colour in this shade range. The value of transparent amber is more apt. The darker gold colour is sold at a high cost compared to the lighter ones.

● Russian amber has the same gold colour, and it is also Baltic amber. A mine in Kaliningrad is the main source of amber, and its features and cost are very similar to the cost in Ukraine and Greece.

● Another rare amber is cherry. It is the composition of 1% to 5% of all amber found in the world. Currently, the demand for cherry amber is comparatively low. However, if it is clear and with an inclusion, then it is worth buying.

● In the Baltic and Dominican regions, white amber is found, also called bone amber. It has a similar appearance to ivory, and it is a rare amber species.

● This colour is not noticeable widely and is rare, so there is a variation in the cost of this coloured stone. The value of amber depends upon the qualities such as clearness, cut, and setting.

Most valuable coloured amber cost

The colour-changing of the stone is due to the variety of climate, trees, and some other conditions in which the amber was formed.

Experts categorize ambers as per the region where they formed. Because of the specific region, amber origin and colour come hand in hand.

Besides the value for inclusion amber, the demand for different coloured amber varies every year. Red and white ambers are rarest and most popular.

But the demand for white amber increases its market value. The white amber costs about $11 per carat in the current situation.

Because of gold and yellow amber history, the cost can go up to $14 per carat (without inclusion).

The green amber is rare and also very popular. The best supplier of green amber in the Dominican Republic. Depending upon the rock, its value varies. The light-green amber is less expensive. To make it expensive, it is treated by heat and becomes more beautiful.

Among all the colours, blue amber is the rarest. In the gem industry, it is new. You can only identify it in the right light; otherwise, it looks like yellow-brown coloured amber. When a fluorescent light passes through it, the colour of blue amber changes. It is the best property of the stone.

List of some amber with cost ( just benchmarks):

● Baltic amber $2-$14/carat

● Russian amber $2-$12/carat

● Black amber (Dominican) $1-$6/carat

● Red amber (cherry) $3-$6/carat

● Inclusion amber $15-$30/carat

● White amber $9-$11/carat

Value of Raw Amber cost

Because of some definite qualities of raw amber, the cost varies from other raw minerals. It depends upon the areas from where you find it, the softness, and its organic properties.

The cost can be higher, while the raw amber comes with inclusion. But generally, the cost of the raw amber acts by the cost of processed amber.

The raw amber costs about $0.5 to $25 per carat. The workability of amber permits cheap and easy processing. Because it collects from the sea with imperfection, the value decreases.

Same as the hardness of human fingernails, the hardness of amber is 2-2.5. Using sandpaper and Dremel, you can easily give shape and crave it. To use amber in the centre of jewellery or as a bead, you have to give it a shape. The sale of raw amber is made widely, but you can also buy processed amber. It is premium and much smaller.

Important Facts to Know For Estimate The value

To estimate the value of a specimen, it is essential to know its history. History is the key to calculate the cost of amber.

The movie Jurassic Park had a considerable effect on the amber business. After the release of the film, there was a demand for the inclusion of amber.

The value also went up to $40 per carat. This movie has a little history about amber. Because of its stickiness, tiny insects get trapped and stuck in it easily. The dies material is stuck in it for eternity and makes the stone precious.

The ambers found from the underground or land are more costly as compared to the sea amber. Because of water, the sea amber degrades itself. Sea amber is more opaque, less pure, and more imperfect.

Conclusion

If you have more money to spend you can always take a look at the Sapphire Cost, otherwise you have to know that The value of amber stone varies from $1 to $40 per carat worldwide. The cost depends upon the clarity, shape, and inclusion. These facts can make your amber unique from others. If you want to buy amber, then make sure to know about its treatment history. After making sure that the gemstone is real or not, you should buy it. Because of its fragile character, you have to handle it with care. Do not expose the amber to chemicals and heat. You have to ensure that your amber has no contact with alcohol and solvents because they can dissolve your amber partially. To clean amber, you can use a wet cloth and clean it with detergent in warm water. Otherwise, you can contact a jewellery cleaner.