Amber Jewelry Myths Still Live

Amber, which is actually fossilized pine sap, has become, through the creativity of men, part of jewelry. Amber jewelry is today more or less a part of our lives. The difference between now and decades ago is only one: everyone can afford a piece of amber jewelry today and doesn’t know what to do with it, but a long time ago people suspected its powers and a lot of them couldn’t afford to own this kind of jewelry.

The first name given to Amber was electron. After that, around the sixth century B.C., the scientists of that time discovered that, if you rubbed amber against a wool cloth, it became electrically charged. Because of its property it could attract small pieces of paper, fact which amazed the people of that time. Carrying a negative electrical charge, it was thought that the stone itself was able to draw power and energy into its bearer. This belief helped make the stone famous and valuable. People started using it in amber jewelry and making amulets and magical objects. Besides being able to attract energy, it was believed that it aided the intellect. It was prescribed for a lot of curious illnesses like memory loss, anxiety and eccentric behavior.

Amber jewelry was known for its capacity to influence the mood of the bearer. People though that wearing amber jewelry would help them and that the small yellow-brown stone could lighten the burdens of their lives filling their spirit with white light. The results of its actions were supposes to be a feeling of happiness and joy. From the healer’s point of view, the idea was that amber jewelry somehow activated the altruistic side and made people realize the power of their spiritual intellect to the fullest.

For thousands of years Amber has been regarded as a precious substance for its warm beauty. Because no one knew then were it came from, it was thought to be of divine origin. People believed that no harm could come to the one that wore amber jewelry because the stone would protect him. Because of these beliefs the stone become used for medical purposes. Philosophers and alchemists have tried for a long period of time to explain how the amber stones came to be and looked the way they did. Around the first century A.D. a Roman senator and historian recorded a popular belief on the forming of the stone. He wrote it was formed from the urine of the lynx. The male was supposed to produce the dark colored stones and the females the lighter ones with yellow colors. Since there was no explanation to how this miraculous gem appeared, people became superstitious. Another one of the spoken beliefs was that the rays of the setting sun were concealed in the evening sea and then they were cast upon the shore in the form of the stone we all know. This is why we can say that amber jewelry is a piece of brilliant sun. Around the year 240 B.C., an astrologer, Sudines, came pretty close to the real origin of amber. He said that the gemstone is the product of a tree called the “lynx”. It was indeed the product of a tree. Amber was a resin.

The one that made the amber color and amber jewelry famous was Nero. He compared his wife’s hair to the color of the gemstone. From that point on every respectable woman, wives of the noble men at that time, started to aspire to that color and it became a symbol. The woman with the red hair that had the setting sun reflected in the evening sea trapped in her hair felt very proud of the similitude between the amber stone and her beauty. That’s why amber jewelry is regarded the way it is. A small piece of “brilliant sun” or “frozen gold” hides the mysteries of the gem in the beauty of the amber jewelry.

As for the medical use of amber, nothing can be scientifically proven. The ancient Romans had great confidence in the powers of baltic amber jewelry and they used amber in other ways too. They thought that some powder of the gemstone taken in a cup of wine could cure illnesses like fever, asthma or even infections of the throat. This type of medicine was used by the ancient Romans for ear and eye problems too. A fine powder was mixed with honey and, sometimes, with oil made from roses and it was either poured on the infected area or taken internally. Not all types of amber were thought to have healing proprieties, only the reddish stones. Nowadays, it’s also recommended to wear some amber jewelry around the neck (a necklace or a pendant) for the same purpose.

Wearing amber jewelry is a double win situation: it looks good and makes you feel good also. Precious, mysterious and miraculous, amber is by far the most complex gemstone. Its past and its aspect still fascinate a lot of people. Amber jewelry can create an effect that no diamond can ever do and is indeed, as poets say, “a slice of sunshine”.