What Is An Autoclave

Things you should know about an autoclave.

An autoclave is a pressure chamber used to carry out industrial and scientific processes requiring elevated temperature and pressure in relation to ambient.

Autoclaves are essential to the making of jewelry from Natural Baltic Amber.

Amber as it is found in nature is not usable for making most jewelry. That is because it is full of impurities, holes, cracks and bubbles. (For a more complete discussion see Characteristics Of Amber. )

Before the days of autoclaves, amber was cleaned up, or “improved” by roasting it in sand or boiling it in oil. Now virtually ALL, with emphasis on ALL, is passed through an autoclave before it is used to make jewelry.

And autoclave is also used to change the color of amber.  For example, processing it in a high oxygen content while being exposed to bright light results in an old amber color.

The gas mixtures and entire process used to yield a desired result are tightly guarded secrets.

Important points.

Virtually all amber used for jewelry has been heated.  Why? Because it passed through an autoclave.

If you want to make jewelry using raw amber, you need an autoclave or knowledge of how to roast amber or boil it in oil.

If you try to make jewelry from unimproved raw amber, waste will be extraordinarily high.  And some of the amber may be totally useless.