The History of Polish Baltic Amber

Baltic amber, which is sometimes also known as succinite (only the latter is used in Polish goods), comes from the Quaternary beds which are on Polish territory, and the Tertiary beds on the Sambian Peninsula in Russia.

The resin of coniferous trees which dates back about 40 million years, was transported by rivers from Scandinavia and what is now the Baltic Sea, and deposited in the so-called "blue earth" of the delta between Chlapowo and the Sambian Peninsula. This large delta, from Karwia near Chlapowo in Poland spread up the Sambian Peninsula and made deposits in the northern, shallow shelf of the epicontinental marine basin of the Eocene.

The History of Amber - Amber Defined

Baltic amber can be defined, in the simplest way, as a fossil resin from coniferous trees containing succinic acid. It is the succinate, which gives Baltic amber its pride of place among all other fossil resins. Other fossil resins, of which about 100 have been identified, either do not contain this acid at all or contain less than three per cent. Of course, some of them can also be worked like amber.

In nature, amber is found in natural, defined drip forms, similar to stalactites, drops, or as fillings in the crevices of the once richly resinous trees. Internal natural casts of amber are very revealing forms of fossils — the proof of the existence of trees of unbelievable size. There are pieces of amber weighing as little as 2 to 3 kg, while the biggest known lump weighs 9.75 kilos. Amber which was carried a long way, or was ground by the action of moving water, can be found in boulders or grains which are rounded to different degrees.

The rich history of the amber — from the time it is a fluid resin flowing from the trees until the time it is found on the beach — contributes to the exceptional beauty of the Polish Baltic amber. In comparison with the amber mined from the Sambian mines, which lies below sea-level for 40 million years in the conserving environment of the "blue earth," it is definitely more beautiful. The natural weathering enriches the beauty of the amber.

Prof. Barbara Kosmowska-Ceranowicz, Museum of the Earth, Warsaw
Wieslaw Gierlowski, Amber Association of Poland, Gdansk
Duty Free International Review, 1998