>Floating Amber Beads

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Today, I interrupt my regularly scheduled blog to show you a gift that my father sent me. It's a Russian amber beaded necklace that he found at the Tucson Gem Show! Amber is considered to be a gemstone or semi-precious stone, but in fact, it is not a stone at all. It is fossilized tree resin from ancient forests.

I have never owned any amber before, so I wanted to test it and make sure that mine was real. After doing a little research, I learned that amber is buoyant in salt water, which is why it washes up on the beaches of the Baltic Sea after a storm. So, in a sauce pan, I mixed 2.5 tablespoons salt per 1 cup hot water. After the salt dissolved and the water cooled, I placed my necklace in the pan. Sure enough, it floated to the top! This is a great way to see if the amber you have purchased is real or not. Plastic or any other imitation amber will sink to the bottom.. Next, I want to find a piece of amber with an insect or spider trapped inside! :O