Amber Test Kit

What you need to properly test if your amber is real.

Note that this page is addressed to the person who wishes to self test amber. If you are dealing with a high value item, it is best to send it to the Amber Laboratory.

Testing amber properly requires that you have some basic testing equipment and materials. We call this combination an “Amber Test Kit”.

First and foremost you need what in the scientific community is called a control. It is something that is known to be true. The standard against which you are comparing your results.

In your case you need a piece of amber that you know is the real thing. You compare your test to a test of that control piece.  For example, does your piece smell the same as the control when you poke each with a hot pin.

Without a control, you cannot properly test amber.

If you do not have such a piece, click on the image to the right to see what they  look like.

You should also have a piece of copal. That is not necessary, but it is a good idea to give you a higher level of confidence. (Copal is a young amber that is not Natural Baltic Amber. It looks like it so many people sell it as Natural Baltic Amber. Get it on eBay.)

A pin (a fine tipped soldering iron, a wire about 1 mm in diameter, a small drill about 1 mm in diameter or something similar) that will be heated and inserted into the amber to cause it to smoke.

A piece of plastic. Note that many plastics have characteristics similar to amber.

Finally, some acetone or ether. Some people use nail polish. Not all nail polish is satisfactory. You need acetone or ether.

With these materials in hand, you can properly test your amber.

The test procedure is here.