Organic Materials used in Jewelry

AMBER

Amber is fossilised resin which oozed from certain types of coniferous trees flourishing millions of years ago. Occasionally, the sticky sap would trap a tiny insect or leaf (inclusion) particle in its slow descent so producing the rare material much sought and often faked today. Probably the best known variety of amber used in antique jewelry is Baltic found near Konigsberg, East Prussia and on the Lithuanian coastline. Typically cloudy yellow or opaque honey yellow, Baltic amber is polished into graduated beads, cut into naturalistic brooches and pendants. Scandinavian silversmiths found the understated colours of Baltic amber to be ideal in silver jewelry and much of the amber sold today is heavily influenced by earlier Arts and Crafts naturalistic forms

CORAL

Of all organic gem materials, coral was probably the most versatile in its use in antique gold jewelry. Coral is formed from the skeletons of millions of tiny marine animals called polyps and it is rather depressing to consider just how much of this wonderful - and irreplaceable - natural phenomenon has been extracted from the deep seas in the past few houndreds years. Each distinct colour of coral bears its own name. Some of these include white (Bianco), bright rose (Rosa Vivo), red (Russo) and black.The very deep red coral graphically known as Ox Blood is possibly the most expensive today with a top grade bead necklace selling for $10,000.

JET

Real jet is a kind of fossilised wood formed under intense heat and pressure. Jet used to be carved into any number of objects of art although it is most closely associated with mourning jewelry. Materials confused with jet include plastic, black onyx and black enamel.

PEARL

Arguably the most important gem material next to the diamond, pearls are suprisingly robust considering they are an entirely natural organic material. Pearls are found in many different shapes and colours and were usaually worn to designate status, authority and power. Pearls were even crushed and swallowed for their assumed medicinal and restorative properities. Pearls are an accident of nature, formed in living molluscs such as oysters and mussels. When a foreign object such as a grain of sand or grit finds its way into the shell, the mollusc secretes layer upon layer of a smooth material called conchiolin around the irritant which gradually builds up over the time into a pearl.