The Beautiful Varieties of Stunning Dominican Amber

One of the many reasons amber is so magical is the fact that it is simply the hardened resin of a prehistoric tree. It is not a stone, it is not a mineral; it is the product of a living creature that froze the events of a specific moment in time that occurred millions of years ago. Every piece tells the story of an ecosystem that no longer exists, inspiring spiritual energy that allows us to connect with these very special artifacts.

As a result of what the resin has captured and the conditions surrounding its fossilization, it can harden in a variety of colors, ranging from white to black. The following can range from rare to common, yet all are striking and awe-inspiring in their own ways.

Yellow Amber

The most common color of amber in the world, and unique because of the cloudy, opaque swirls of buttery and milky colors found in the resin. Typically, of coniferous origin, these pieces are very common in European amber, but can also be found in the Dominican Republic from tropical conifers.

Spiritual Energy: Joy

Common: 4 in 5

Honey Amber

The most common color of Dominican Amber, Orange is the natural color of the hardened resin from Hymenaea Protera, the now-extinct leguminous tree from where most Dominican Amber comes from. It is typically found with a large number of inclusions, showing fossils of insects, leaves, feathers, and many more objects that portray the prehistoric ecosystem from which it came from. Dominican Orange Amber is highly transparent and given value relative to the inclusions within it.

Spiritual Energy: Creativity

Common: 3 in 4

Red Amber

Red Amber is very rare because of the unlikelihood of it ever fossilizing. The main difference between orange and red ambers is the amount of sunlight exposure the resin had received during fossilization. While most resin eventually was buried underground by erosion, the pieces that lasted a lot longer outside acquired a red hue thanks to oxidation and are indistinguishable from Orange Amber until after they have been processed.

Spiritual Energy: Adventure

Very Rare: 1 in 70

Green Amber

This very rare shade of amber is typically found in pieces that contain abundant IR reflective particle inclusions. While all Dominican amber has IR-reflective properties and therefore glows under UV light, green amber has them in such abundance that natural sunlight makes them emit a green glow. These pieces are very similar to blue amber but also happen to be a few million years younger.

Spiritual Energy: Wisdom

Very Rare: 1 in 50

Black Amber

Often the result of very dense inclusions of dirt, debris, bark, and dust, black amber comes from a rare phenomenon because of how unlikely it was for the resin to end up on the ground before hardening without being destroyed. In terms of its composition, it is not very different from orange amber.

Spiritual Energy: Determination

Rare: 1 in 10

Blue Amber

The rarest shade of amber and very predominantly of Dominican origin, blue amber is hardened resin that is tens of millions of years old and very densely packed with UV reflective inclusions that allow it to glow blue in sunlight and practically shine under UV light. One of the reasons is that much of its UV reflectivity comes from ash particles captured in the resin, which means that the only way for blue amber to have formed is through overcoming the chaos and destruction of a large forest fire.

Blue Amber’s rarity and beauty have led to many of its pieces being valued even higher than diamonds!

Spiritual Energy: Virtue Extremely

Rare: 1 in 1000