About AMBER . . . ELECTRON GLAESUM . .AGTSTEIN . . BERNSTEIN . . .BURSZZTYN . . BAERNSTEN GINSTARAS . . .JANTAR . . .RAV RAFR . . .AMBRA AMBAR . . . AMBRE JAUNE . .

According to Ancient myths, amber is tears shed into the Eridanus (i.e. the Baltic region) by Heliads grieving the death of her brother Phaetheon, who was thrown into the river. The rays of the setting sun hardened in the depths of the sea.  A legend from the Polish region of Kurpie has it that amber is human tears from the time of the great flood . . .

The importance of amber in science, culture and art, has long and grand traditions.  Amber is fossil resin.  Baltic amber owes its exceptional reputation to its fascinating history, spanning the period from the times when it was sticky resin in Tertiary forests at least forty million years ago to the point when it was found as a small solid piece on the Baltic beach.

Bulky pieces of Baltic amber can weigh more than 3 kg. Icicles and other dripstone forms, as well as tiny beautiful drops, seem to convince one that they really are the tears of mythological Heliads. The Tertiary forests were large and produced great amounts of resin.  They consisted of coniferous trees from the Pinaceae family, resembling such species as today's Cedrus (cedar from the Atlas mountains) and Larix (larch).  These amber-yielding forests grew in Northern Europe. The most extensive deposits of Baltic amber in Eocenian blue mud occur in the Sammbian Peninsula and by the Bay of Gdansk 

Unlike other kinds of amber in the world, Baltic amber is marked by a wealth of varieties. This resulted from its internal structure, inclusions and degree of weathering. Dictionaries of folk names provide aproximately one hundred (100) names describing transparent, translucent and opaque amber with a multitude of hues, in yellow, red, brown,  beige and white, as well as bluish and greenish tints, which sometimes create unique mosaics.

There are clear pieces and pieces filled with minute particles of vegetable substance that make delicate filigree patterns one would not be able to repeat. 

Apart from Baltic amber (succinite), there are over 100 other types of fossil resins in the world.  Varied as they are, their properties are inferior to those of the Baltic amber (in terms of treatment and durability of ornaments).  They are found in rocks of various ages: from those dating back to the Triassic, i.e. 230 million  years ago, to very young ones, found in quaternary deposits.  The latter are found in the southern hemisphere and are called copal.  International jewelers sell goods made of many varieties of amber, including rumenite, symetite, birmite, Dominican, Mexican and Bornean amber, and even copal, but they are all incomparable to ornaments from Baltic amber.

Baltic amber has been used as material for ornamentation since Palaeolithic times.  In Poland, in the region of Zulawy, alone approximately 100 amber treatment sites dating back to Neolithic times have been found.  The exceptional qualities of succinite were also appreciated by ancient Mediterranean culture and in the course of time this particular type of amber reached all corners of the world.  In a few thousand years it became the most valuable and the most widely used decorative stone.

Baltic amber is not only a precious stone, but also a witness of life dating back to at least 40 million years.  Inclusions in the form of small animals and fragments of plants are great material for paleontologists and a subject of interest to hobbyists and collectors.

Some of the inclusions still have their original three-dimensional form and may be examined as closely as any contemporary specimens.  Today, just like ages ago, amber is one of the most highly valued and fashionable precious stones in the world.

Artistic amber works decorated royal chambers.  Impressive cabinets, chests, chandeliers and reliquaries became typical furnishings in the mansions of the nobility.

The unparalleled variety and beauty of Baltic amber colors has a beneficial influence on our health.  Amber jewelry is often worn with casual clothes, while its more more luxurious and extravagant versions are used as ornaments for special occasions.

Many outstanding designers work in amber.  It is also material for artists creating unique works of art.  Amber is set in gold and silver, often in combination with other precious stones.

(  . . . taken and edited from the literature of The Amber Association of Poland)

About the Hudson-Neva collection . . . .

After years of exploration for sources of high quality, contemporary designed amber, Hudson-Neva was fortunate to discover the workshops of Art-7, jewelers from Gdansk. Their superb craftsmanship represents the finest traditions and encompasses a collection of more than 1000 examples, including brooches, earrings, necklaces, pendants and bracelets.  As charter members of the Amber Association of Poland all of their jewelry is guaranteed genuine amber,  not reprocessed  material.  It is set in sterling silver ( not "German silver," (i.e. "melchior," or nickel silver, prominently used in much costume jewelry from Eastern Europe).

Each of the items produced by Art-7 and shown on this website, is available, from our growing inventory or by special order through Hudson-Neva.  Any design in the catalogue can be executed in any of the types of amber available to the craftsmen.