I became aware of amber as a young boy because my mother was fond of it. She had several necklaces made of amber, which I thought were pretty. Amber has been appreciated since ancient times for its beauty and was widely traded and sought after.
Little did I know back then that amber is nothing more than fossilized tree resin. Because of this, it is possible to find ancient insects, pollens and other things trapped within it. Michael Crichton, a genius, looked at an insect embedded in amber, and his imagination created Jurassic Park from this observation.
Most amber comes from the southern Baltic coast, so it is very common in northern Europe, especially Poland and the Baltic states. This jewelry shop in Krakow, "The World of Amber", is typical of some of the nicer shops we saw during our visit to Poland.
Amber occurs in a range of different colors. The most common is yellow-orange-brown, but other colors include white, red and even black. As you can see, in the right hands the stone can be crafted into lovely jewelry.
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