Amber varies in colour from pale yellow through orange to dark brown and is also found -more rarely - in blue or green and even white. It has been traded for thousands of years not only for decorative purposes but also for its reputed healing properties (see GEMSTONE CHART)

Amber is not a mineral at all, but an organic gemstone, the fossilised resin of pine trees from around 20-60 million years ago.  Light in weight and naturally warm to the touch, it readily produces static electricity when rubbed and was known to the ancient Greeks as ‘elektron’.