Amber Bracelet Guide: Clear, Beeswax and Baltic Amber

An amber bracelet is a strand of amber beads, or a strand where amber sits beside another material. Amber is an organic gem: tree resin that hardened and fossilised over more than a million years.^(GIA) So an amber bracelet is very light, warm to the touch and soft in lustre. In our data, amber appears in 5% of the styles on Oudbracelet: 9 of 182.

Amber must be old. GIA notes that true amber is over a million years old, while copal, a younger resin, is often around a hundred thousand.^(GIA) That is why an amber bracelet and a copal bracelet can look alike but age differently.

The Baltic coast bordering Germany, Poland and Russia is still an important source of amber, according to GIA. First, that is where the name Baltic amber comes from. Then, for example, a buyer still judges each piece on its own, clear or cloudy. Finally, true amber must be over a million years old, or it counts as copal.

Choosing an amber bracelet comes down to three decisions: look, form and size. First, choose the look: clear and glowing, or opaque and creamy. Beeswax amber is the opaque kind, clouded by many tiny bubbles.^(GIA) Second, choose the form. A full amber strand is warm and bright, while a few amber beads on dark wood read as a soft accent.

Third, think about size. Amber is so light that larger beads stay comfortable. Its density is only about 1.1 g/cm³, barely above water at 1.0. Quartz-family stones such as agate sit near 2.65 g/cm³. For example, a 12 mm amber bead weighs less than half as much as a 12 mm agate bead. Finally, ask whether the amber is natural or pressed. Pressed amber is a different product, and the price should reflect the difference.

The catalogue also shows how amber is strung here: 5 of our 9 amber bracelet styles, or 56%, are double-wraps or multi-wraps.

An amber and agarwood bracelet is a pairing of two resins, one fresh and one ancient. Agarwood forms its resin inside the living Aquilaria tree after an injury.^{(Tan 2019)} Amber, by contrast, is tree resin that hardened and fossilised over more than a million years.^(GIA) So the two materials share an origin, even though deep time separates them. In our data, 8 of the 9 amber styles here pair amber with agarwood, or 89%.

The colours work as well. For example, the honey yellow of beeswax amber lifts the dark brown of plantation agarwood. However, the two need slightly different care. Amber is soft and can scratch, while the wood minds water. So keep the strand dry and away from perfume. Then wipe the beads with a soft cloth after wear. See our agarwood and amber pieces.

The difference between clear and beeswax amber is a matter of bubbles, not of age or origin. According to GIA, a great many gas bubbles make amber cloudy and nearly opaque.^(GIA) So both kinds are true amber. In practice, clear amber suits buyers who like to look into a bead and spot inclusions. Beeswax amber, on the other hand, suits buyers who prefer a calm, waxy surface. Our data leans creamy: 67% of our amber bracelet styles carry beeswax amber, from a total of 9.

A good amber bracelet is one whose look you love and whose type you know. First, decide between clear amber and creamy beeswax amber. Second, ask whether the beads are amber, copal or pressed amber. GIA notes that amber must be over a million years old, so copal is simply a younger, softer resin.^(GIA) Third, plan for care. Amber is soft, so store an amber bracelet apart from harder stones and metal. Finally, see the exact strand before you pay.

Our agarwood is plantation-grown and ships under the CITES Appendix II rules for Aquilaria.^(CITES) In practice, those rules cover the agarwood beads, not the amber. Our data puts agarwood in 89% of our amber styles, 8 of 9. So the paperwork applies to nearly every amber bracelet here. Browse agarwood and amber, and we film your strand first.