Amber (the regular honey coloured and the blue amber) is one of the easiest things to duplicate and the plastics look very real, even the pieces with a bug in it.  Lighter honey coloured amber is younger, darker is older.  Even once you get it home, it will continue to change colour.  A good source for more information is http://www.ambericawest.com/.

There are a few easy tests that can aid the shopper in their quest and to avoid being scammed.  One of the best is the wool test. Bring a piece of wool with you from home if you intend to shop for amber (a swatch or a wool sock!) and a piece of paper (tissue or a credit card receipt, shredded). You can rub the amber with the wool and the static will attract the paper pieces.

Another easy test is based on the fact that real amber will glow under a black light. Reputable sellers will have one onsite for that purpose.  You can buy portable black lights for a number of purposes, this being one.

There is a burn test which is not recommended since, though the amber won't "melt", the heat can alter the appearance. It is only a resin and not a true stone.

Larimar is the native stone of the Dominican Republic.  It is a pectolite and found only in the DR.  There is some copying of larimar being done, but most of what is sold is authentic.  The most common larimar is a light blue with white marbling throughout.  If the stone is too deep a blue, unmarbled or polished into a cat’s eye effect, it is likely not the real thing.  You can read up on larimar at http://www.larimarmuseum.com/.  It is easy to test larimar by using the burn test, and many vendors will provide you with the lighter to do so.  Be cautious to keep the flame away from the string that a piece is strung on or the surrounding setting.  The fire may not be as well-suited for that material.  

Larimar is best set off in silver, and/but you will see it set in sterling silver, stainless steel and gold.  As a rule, the stainless steel will look very tooled compared to a rougher sterling silver but marking isn’t required on all pieces sold in the DR so just because you don’t find a “925” or “ster” mark doesn’t mean that it isn’t.  Also, if the mark is on the clasp and not on the necklace or bracelet itself, it may be that just the finding is silver and not the rest of the piece.

Kaki
kaki.ulan@sasktel.net