This is natural Dominican amber. It is the REAL thing, natural amber just the way it comes from the mines. Natural Colors of Dominican Amber Natural Dominican amber and natural Baltic amber are both old, hard amber. But in contrast to Baltic Amber, Dominican amber is never heat treated to reproduce the green, honey, red or even blue color, or make it transparent by boiling it in rapeseed oil or in the fat of a suckling pig. (Don't laugh.) This was and is a method used in famous amber countries to produce rare colors and effects. Some imitate green amber even by applying paint to the backs of the amber stones. It also is heated up and cooled down to produce the "sun spangles" (flints) and treated in vacuum chambers (autoclaved) and what have you. Much Baltic amber flooding the market is made only of amber rejects and amber sawdust or meal, changed in color, melted up and pressed and still called: "real amber", "Genuine amber" etc. Even certificates are being offered. But Dominican amber uses none of these methods. They just find it that way and cut and polish it. What you see is what you get. Yes, these Caribbeans are very fortunate to have naturally what others dream of and try to copy artificially. Besides the beautiful beaches and waters. And rum. Of course, Dominican Amber also comes in "Amber Colors". There are the honey, yellow, brown and all shades in between. Most of them are naturally transparent or translucent. Dominican Amber is not "succinite" but "retinite". It is fossilized tree resin from an ancient relative of a tropical species called "algarroba". Ok. Let's sum it up: * Dominican amber is found in a wide range of natural colors, some exclusively Dominican, which also places it as a class apart. * Dominican amber is not "enhanced" by heat, oil treatment or autoclaved. These technics are not even known here. * It is cut and polished fossil resin, just the way it comes from the mines. * No pressed amber or is produced. Amber pieces too small to be used, or to ugly to be used, or amber meal are disposed of. * Amber production is not industrialized. Whatever is made from Dominican Amber, beads, cabochons, carvings etc. is "hand made" and original. Chinese Dragon carved from Dominican Blue Amber * Amber from the Dominican Republic can be cut and polished with much success. Craftsmen make excellent figures from this material. It can be highly polished and turned into beautiful jewelry. * The occurrence of fossil insects in Dominican Amber is about 10 times higher than in Baltic amber. Dominican amber is also 90 percent more transparent. Inclusions are generally more visible. But, Alas!, Dominican amber is very rare. It is not found in large quantities, or mined with big machinery, the industrial way. Everything is done with picks, and shovel, the old, the traditional way. All this makes it more exclusive.