Re: About Amber

[Guest guest]

sagullinha7 <sagullinha7@...> wrote: I mean amber, that pre

historical resin.

As I am a teacher (work every morning...uff puff) I have a collection

of fossiles, including a big bit of amber.

Out of curiosity, I broke some chips and put them in alcohol. It

dissolved beautifully, giving a slightly yellow hue to the alcohol and

faint but nice smell.

Now I am tempted to dissolve a bit more and use it in a composition.

I ask you: would it be worthed? I am in the verge of breaking my nice

yellow stone and transforming it either in a good fixative or maybe in

nothing...

Could you give me a hint???

Aniba

Aniba of course really the decision is entirely up to you...... it seems so

sad to break upa beautiful piece of Amber that is probably thousands of years

old for something that may or may not give you an odour....

Eden Botanicals www.edenbotanicals.com/

when you get to their site it they have quite a lot to say about the

subject.... go there first and then decide.

hope this helps

Janita haan

natural perfumer

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[Guest guest]

<snip>

> Out of curiosity, I broke some <amber> chips and put them in alcohol.

> It dissolved beautifully, giving a slightly yellow hue to the alcohol

> and faint but nice smell.

> Now I am tempted to dissolve a bit more and use it in a composition.

Hi Aniba,

I would say, go for it. But with a caveat: I wouldn't break up any

nice specimens of amber -- I would use the stuff that is made into

moderately-priced beads. The stuff used for beads is not of geological-

specimen quality; it doesn't have any debris in it that would make it

worthy of retaining as a specimen for study and enjoyment. And if it

has authentic debris in it, it likely cost a pretty penny. So, if your

amber has any bits of leaves or bugs in it (I'd use a jeweler's loupe

to be certain), I would say, emphatically NO don't break it up!

I've been planning to tincture some of my own amber. I have lots of

beads, and smashing a few of them won't break anyone's heart. On the

other hand, I have a pair of amber earrings and a pendant that have a

bit of interesting debris in them, and I'd never dream of putting them

to tincture.

Also, a lot of " amber " is actually copal -- it looks like amber and can

have interesting debris in it as well. From the book Amber: Window to

the Past, by A. Grimaldi:

" Generally, material that is several million years old and older is

sufficiently cross-linked and polymerized to be classified as amber.

Material that is only, say, several thousand years old is often

referred to as copal, or subfossil resin. Copals are so incompletely

cross-linked that a drop of alcohol or other solvent makes the surface

tacky. Put close to a hot flame, copal will readily melt; amber will

soften and blacken but not liquify. "

Additionally, there are amber forgeries made of other resins and even

polymers. If a hot needle is touched to amber or copal, it produces a

resinous smell, whereas, if it is a polymer, the smell is more

acrid, " like burning plastic, or burned fruit. "

I hope this adds some clarity to what you're working with. You might

also want to think about purchasing some copal and comparing the scent

of that with the scent of your amber.

Have fun!

Andrine

[Guest guest]

snipped and corrected for topposting:

>From: " Andrine Olson-Kirschenman " <midvale808@...>

> " Generally, material that is several million years old and older is

>sufficiently cross-linked and polymerized to be classified as amber.

>Material that is only, say, several thousand years old is often

>referred to as copal, or subfossil resin. Copals are so incompletely

>cross-linked that a drop of alcohol or other solvent makes the surface

>tacky. Put close to a hot flame, copal will readily melt; amber will

>soften and blacken but not liquify. "

>

>Additionally, there are amber forgeries made of other resins and even

>polymers. If a hot needle is touched to amber or copal, it produces a

>resinous smell, whereas, if it is a polymer, the smell is more

>acrid, " like burning plastic, or burned fruit. "

>

>I hope this adds some clarity to what you're working with. You might

>also want to think about purchasing some copal and comparing the scent

>of that with the scent of your amber.

>

>Have fun!

>Andrine

this is compelling to me to...i have a hunk of cosmetic amber that i

sometimes use as a rub on scent, or have successfully mashed up in Shea

Butter for good smelling moisurizer, its soft and sandy, do you think I

could tincture that in alcohol?

[Guest guest]

> this is compelling to me to...i have a hunk of cosmetic amber that i

> sometimes use as a rub on scent, or have successfully mashed up in

> Shea Butter for good smelling moisurizer, its soft and sandy, do you

> think I could tincture that in alcohol?

Hi (I LOVE lollybelle!),

By all means! If you can smear it on your body, it should tincture

down nicely.

Andrine

[Guest guest]

At 07:03 PM 3/15/2007, you wrote:

>this is compelling to me to...i have a hunk of cosmetic amber that i

>sometimes use as a rub on scent, or have successfully mashed up in Shea

>Butter for good smelling moisurizer, its soft and sandy, do you think I

>could tincture that in alcohol?

Hi

What you have is a manmade fragrant imitation of amber -- made from

natural stuff! Confused? Will of Eden Botanicals is the (IMO) primary

manufacturer of amber resin fragrance in the USA. His stuff is

beautiful and sold everywhere. Visit his site for more information:

http://www.edenbotanicals.com/crystallized.html

And it certainly will tincture in alcohol, and you can then use it

for a perfume base if you like.

Anya's Garden of Natural Perfume http://AnyasGarden.com

Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild http://ArtisanNaturalPerfumers.org

Natural Perfumers Community Group

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Natural Perfumery Blog http://AnyasGarden.Blogspot.com/