50 Shades of Baltic Amber: Butterscotch Amber
By Sally-Ann Dunn
Not everyone knows the spectrum of dazzling colours that Baltic Amber has to offer. In fact, there are 250 different shades of natural Amber - from the most common cognac hues to bony whites, Amberis a truly versatile, semi-precious stone.Yet in-fact, did you know that Amber is not actually a stone at all? Learn more about the Properties of Baltic Amberin our Jewellery Encyclopaedia.
Through the years we've come to learn more and more about this intriguing "stone". One of the things that first surprised us was the huge variation ofcolours that exist and in fact, no other kind of Amberpossesses the diversity of colours equal to that ofour favourite Baltic kind. Of those darling hues, isButterscotch Amber. Whether it is because of its rarity, uniqueness orrebellious nature at the raw amber market, natural Butterscotch Amber reaches considerably higher prices than other shades.
So what is this unique Marbled Yellow Amber stone?
Butterscotch amber is characterised by its milky white to creamy yellow shade. It is often also referred to as Royal Amber, Antique Amber, Yolk Amber and even more simply, White Amber or Yellow Amber. But how is it that this white Amber resin is so different from its more common orange Amber cousin.
Following much technical research, it has come to light that the opaque nature of Butterscotch Amber is caused by tiny bubblestrapped withinthe resin, originating from the trees on which it once lay.As seen under an electron microscope, Butterscotch amber consists of clear resin with millions of dispersed bubbles. It is the reflections of light that cause the stone toappear a milky colour. Take margarine for example, made up of an emulsion of oiland water - both clear,and yet come together to appear yellow.
Butterscotch Amber is a completely natural form of Baltic Amber. It is simplyof a rarer kind than it's renown Cognac twin, as a happy result of nature's cunning beauty. The exact shade of Butterscotch Amber, like a fine wine, is known to develop and change with time.Asdecades pass, milky amber will turn into light antique and later to a more yellow golden hue. Therefore its colour can offer valuable insight into its history, age andorigins.
Would you like to learn more about the different Colours of Amber? Get in touch and let us know.
Feeling inspired? Shop our selection of modern Yellow Amber Jewellery in our brand new Solstice Collection.
