Amber is 40-60 million years old resin from trees which once covered the area of the Baltic sea. Amber comes in many shades: from opaque to transparent, from ivory and cream,  to lemon, golden and cognac to reddish brown. There is also green amber in shades of grey, green and black.

The shade of amber indicates the age of amber:
- The opaque cream amber is the “youngest” – 40 million years old.
- The transparent, light colour amber is approx. 45 million years old.
- The golden and cognac colour amber is 50 million and the reddish brown is the oldest which is 60 million years old.

Ancient Romans and Greeks use to travelled all the way to The Baltic Sea to acquire amber, they used it for making tiaras, jewellery and other decorative objects. They also used it for medical purposes. Amber has got static properties. The Greek word for amber is electron. Amber is naturally warm and was used as an effective cure:

- for sore throat  -  short necklace close to the neck is  recommended.
- for cough and chest infections – rub a lump of amber against your chest
- even today cough linctuses are made out of pine juices (before they become amber)
- for arthritis wear an amber bracelet (amber has similar properties to copper so an amber bracelet eases the pains of rheumatism and arthritis  - and looks prettier too!

The tradition of curing with amber has survived. My Grandmother dissolves crushed amber in strong spirit and rubs the liquid into her joints . This way she keeps the rheumatism under control!  I simply wear amber jewellery!