How to Identify Fake Amber Worry Beads
Fingering a strand of worry beads may help with prayer or stress relief. Amber, fossilized resin from ancient trees, is a popular choice for prayer beads because of its warm brown and red tones, and its association with healing. When buying worry beads, beware of fake amber. Tests help determine whether you have amber formed millions of years ago or a substitute made last year.
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Things You'll Need
- Needle
- Eyedropper
- Acetone
- Liquid dish soap
- Water
- Soft cloth
- Small pieces of tissue
- 2 tablespoons of salt
- 1 cup warm water
Instructions
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Scratch one of the beads with your fingernail. If you make a mark, it's not amber.
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2
Heat a needle point in a flame until it is red-hot. Touch the heated tip to the bead. If the material melts quickly and gives off a plastic odor, you probably have a piece of plastic or copal.
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Use an eyedropper to place a drop of acetone on a bead. Allow it to dry, then repeat. Melting on the surface or a tacky surface is indicative of copal or plastic.
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4
Perform a taste test. Wash the bead in soapy water and rinse. Run your tongue over the surface. Amber and copal are tasteless; plastic or other synthetic substances have a chemical taste.
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Rub the bead briskly with a soft cloth to create heat. Hold the bead over some small pieces of tissue. Friction between the cloth and amber creates static electricity and attracts the tissue.
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Rub the bead again with the cloth until it is warm and smell it. A chemical or plastic smell indicates the bead is a fake.
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Test the bead's ability to float. Dissolve two tablespoons of table salt in a cup of warm water. Add the bead. Amber does not sink.
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Tips & Warnings
Amber is slower to melt than plastic and copal, and emits a smoky smell.
Even real amber can be modified. Look for drill holes that someone may have made to insert insects or other inclusions.
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Comments
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I might take more time to check your site and understand the instructions posted here.
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jamey4beads
Aug 18, 2010
There is a significant difference between prayer beads and "worry beads." People pray with the former, and merely contemplate or calm themselves with the latter. Many amber prayer beads are used by members of the Islamic faith. Worry beads may be used by non-Muslims, some being Christian--so they are not indulging in traditional Islamic prayers. However, visually, the use or prayer beads and worry beads may appear very similar, even though the practitioners have different goals or aspirations. JDA. -
jamey4beads
Aug 18, 2010
Unfortunately, some of this information is slightly garbled or incomplete. The common color for amber is yellow--not "warm brown and red tones." The older amber is, the more likely it will be darker in tone. Copal is a different natural resin from amber, but is not plastic. The hot-point test will cause a resinous aroma--NOT the smell of plastic. Many plastics will not react to acetone. Its effect on amber is marginal. For a floatation test, put THREE tablespoons of salt into eight ounces of water. However, be forewarned that copal and some plastics will float in a brine (though some plastics float in plain water, while amber and copal do not). Phenolic plastics will sink like rocks in brine. Jamey D. Allen - Jewelry Historian
