Sumatran Blue Amber
Last year at the Tucson Gem Show, I discovered a vendor that sold Sumatran blue Amber. I had never seen blue amber before and I was stunned. They had a few blue amber jewelry pieces under a UV light and it was glowing fluorescent blue!
 |
| Dominican Blue Amber Bracelets and Necklace under UV light |
What is Blue Amber?
Blue amber is fossilized tree resin from the ancient tree
Hymenaea protera. It is a younger amber, approximately 15 to 20 million years old, compared to Baltic amber, which is 20 to 30 million years old.
Blue amber is mined extensively in only two places, the Dominican Republic and Indonesia. Only a fraction of the amber mined is the rare blue color.
The blue fluorescence comes from trace elements of aromatic hydrocarbon component perylene, according to the GIA.
Sumatran blue amber is naturally a cognac-red tone and Dominican amber is naturally a light honey color.
 |
| Sumatran Blue Amber Rough |
 |
| Dominican Blue Amber |
 |
| Sumatran Amber is a rich cognac-red color |
 |
| Sumatran Blue Amber pendant from my personal collection |
The vendor also sold artwork made with blue amber. Gorgeous!
 |
| Blue Amber Lamps and Artwork |
 |
| Wall Sconce made with blue amber |
 |
| Large dragon sculpture made with blue amber and driftwood. |
|
More Reading
Color Phenomena of Blue Amber by the GIA
