Checking for Fake Amber

Have you come by a stone someone says is amber, but it looks like a fake? More importantly, do you want to check if it is the real deal before buying, the way you would with a jewelry diamond? Following are some methods you could employ.

• Check how it smells. Any amber would smell of pine and resin. If the thing is polyester of plastic, it will smell something like a burning bag. Heat a needle and touch the heated tip through a borehole. Smell near this hole and if you get a pleasant resin odor, then you are holding a real amber.
• Cut a piece with a knife, and if it does not fracture, then it is either flint or glass and not amber.
• Put it in salt water; if it rises up, it is likely plastic. The density is what you need to figure out. pressed amber usually sinks right to the bottom without much delay.

These are some of the things you can do to make sure you are not being handed a big fake chunk of amber that a guy is trying to pass off as genuine. Read up to know more about the physical properties of this stone.