Amber has been called “petrified sunlight” or “frozen gold”.

Its bright yellow conceals the mystery of the gem, producing jewellery that makes the wearer both look good and feel good. No wonder it is so fashionable in the 21st century.

At one time, amber was believed to be of divine origin because no one knew were it came from. Alchemists thought amber was formed from the rays of the setting sun, concealed in the evening sea and cast upon the shore in the form of the stone.

Amber necklaces on left photo, designed and crafted by Mutantfairy Jewellery, Cumbria, using MrBead beads. As you can see, amber can make very-striking styles. For more or to buy this suncatcher go to Mutantfairy Jewellery.

Natural amber was formed up to 60-million years ago where seas were then forest. Resin from these trees dripped down to accumulate in puddles. Over millions of years the land was replaced by sea and the weight formed this resin into amber which eventually floated to the surface.

Therefore amber is expensive. However, our very-popular amber will cost you about 1/10 of natural. Like most today, it is ambroid amber - an affordable, immature variety of copal amber mixed with synthetic resin. Amber has been imitated for thousands of years.

Some amber beads found in Egyptian tombs were made from copal – which is also fossilized tree resin, but only thousands of years old. Ambroid, although known as pressed or reconstituted amber, is made from real amber scraps and shavings generated by amber carvers. These tiny pieces are then heated and pressed together.

Try mixing our golden amber beads with more-natural stones to produce quality, but affordable jewellery. It is also very effective combining different tones or green amber. Although amber is usually yellow, brown, orange, or green, it's also available in nearly white to almost black - and naturally darkens to a rich red-brown with age.

If you rub amber against a wool cloth, it became electrically charged, attracting small objects. This is where the word electricity originated: “elektron”, the ancient name for amber. It was thought the stone could magically draw power and energy into its bearer, so people started making amulets from it. Amber was also believed to aid the intellect, prescribed for memory loss and anxiety. And the ancient Romans thought powdered amber taken in a cup of wine could cure fever or asthma.

Keep your amber away from hot water or hot surfaces. Because amber is soft and wears easily, protect it from rubbing by wrapping it in a soft cloth when not wearing it. Remove light soil with a soft cloth dipped in lukewarm water. You can put the shine back into today’s amber by spaying with wood polish like Pledge.

MrBead has over 88 different amber beads, a range found in few bead shops -
See at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com

View a limited range of our amber in the UK at a spring bead fair.

MrBead Spring UK Bead Fairs

Visit us in the UK this spring, say you're a MrBead Newsletter reader and receive a free gift and a gold & black MrBead bag!

Full list of: our 2016 UK Bead Fairs
See a video of some of our past bead fairs

Use NOW - as expires Friday 15th April 2016.  No minimum order, but can only for used at MrBead.com  or MrBead.co.uk and cannot be used with any other discount or eBay.

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