Well I Never Knew This Little Amber Fact.

[mawnansmiff]

Yet another fascinating snippet from the book called 'Tobacco Leaves: Being A Book Of Facts For Smokers' by William Augustine Brennan of the Department Of Medical Science at the John Crerar Library (University Of Chicago) published in 1915.
This time it is on amber used in pipe stems. I often wondered how large the piece of raw amber must be so as to make a pipe stem. Well apparently the answer is here...
The manufacture of commercial amber is a government monopoly in Prussia. The pieces are all melted down at a temperature of about 550 ° F., and then after purification it is cast into slabs about ⅞ inch to 1 ⅝ inches thick and four inches to eight inches long, in which form it is sold to dealers. There are two qualities, opaque and transparent, the opaque being the tougher. The cost varies considerably , the inferior kinds being sold for $ 2.00 per pound, and the finest specimens cost up to $ 60.00 per pound.
...though I appreciate that amber is a hard resin, it never occurred to me that it could be melted as particles to form one homogenous slab.
Hope someone finds this useful.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[pitchfork]

Apparently manufactured amber was a sizeable industry back when pipes were ubiquitous. I have a few amber stemmed pipes, but I'm never sure if its natural or manufactured.

 

[mso489]

A lot was invested in the development of pipes to make them more competitive on the market, all kinds of systems, stingers, stems and bits, and much more. Patents on much of it.

 

[mawnansmiff]

According to the article we have 'manufactured amber' as alluded to above which is the real McCoy and synthetic amber which of course is not.
The two mustn't be confused with each other though granted 'manufactured amber' does suggest a synthetic product. I think we have to put our 1915 heads on to understand matey's explanation.
There were many synthetic ambers about at that time but the only name I can think of right now is 'Amberoid' but even that is sometimes said to be made from 'reformed' fragments of the real stuff so what is real and what is not?
Regards,
Jay.

 

[datascalabash]

Just a question on what it's like nowadays...
Mawnansmiff, your citing of a century-plus old reference source (from 1915!) had me wondering if...
...anyone here might know that Prussia, as a "nation" of any sort, CEASED to exist in 1947...
...and WHO might have taken over the manufacture of "amber" for pipestems since that time...was it Poland or the Soviet Union before 1991 arrived, or post-Christmas Day of 1991, was it (again) Poland, the Russian Federation (which replaced the Soviet Union, and still has the Kaliningrad Oblast as part of its territory), Lithuania or another Baltic state of the present that took that "monopoly" over, if anyone even desired to do so?
I'm just "curious", that's all...!
Yours Sincerely,
Data's Calabash

 

[jpmcwjr]

No idea even if amber was processed in the area post 1947....
Back to Jay's point: Naturally found amber doesn't lose its natural status because it's processed. But if the stock is manufactured to begin with, then it's synthetic.

And isn't amber the ossified bits of tree sap?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

A good friend of mine owns two mines in the old Prussian region. It is still operational, but the gem grade amber is all mined out, but gem grade cannot be melted and reformed. If it can be melted it is considered to be reconstituted, and has no real material value. Actually synthetic is in high demand, because it isn't as fragile and retains its beauty for longer. Reconstituted amber is prone to oxidizing over time, and softening.
Gem Grade would have been all you would have found used in jewelry back in the heyday of amber, but today, you'll see crappy jewelers using any old yellow thin g in jewelry and calling it amber.
BTW, the gem mines are not mined the same way it used to be mined. Today it is mostly a one or two guy operation mostly on the hobby level. He does get lots of insects in the amber, but that would be the melty stuff, so it's not nearly as old as the actual gem grade amber. But, people like it because of the Jurassic Park movie.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Nothing like facts to get in the way of good speculation!
And here's a nice use of amber (Alert!!) - In St. Pete, Russia

 

[aldecaker]

Uh-huh. Tasteful in a subtle, understated kind of way.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Redinol would have been another amber substitute that many old pipe stems were made from. It is a light yellowish material and over time the surface oxidizes to a red color. You can buff off the red color and then you get this cheap looking light yellow plastic looking stuff. The old pipe stems that I've seen made with this will also get a bitter taste to them, but they are also almost 100 years old.

 

[bonanzadriver]

Then there's this...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3552241/Is-60-year-hunt-missing-250million-Amber-Room-FINALLY-New-images-Nazi-looted-treasure-hidden-sealed-wall-secret-room-underground-bunker-Poland.html

 

[sablebrush52]

Very Interesting

 

[exterminatewho]

Nothing like facts to get in the way of good speculation!
And here's a nice use of amber (Alert!!) - In St. Pete, Russia

jpmcwjr, that's a hell of a lot of amber.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"Amber is globally distributed, mainly in rocks of Cretaceous age or younger. Historically, the Samland coast west of Königsberg in Prussia was the world's leading source of amber. The first mentions of amber deposits here date back to the 12th century. About 90% of the world's extractable amber is still located in that area, which became the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia in 1946."
It is Copal that is the one to be avoided (alcohol will disolve it). Though a genuine amber it is not fully fossilized and therefore inferior for most things such as quality jewellery though it is often sold as being amber 'proper'.
I would love to have a piece of the very rare Caribbean blue amber...that would be lovely thing to have in my collection ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[jpmcwjr]

OH, Peter Sellars! Hard to believe I was in stitches over such sketches when they aired just after the last ice age.
And, yeah, sufficient amber there. But the gold makes it gaudy! Otherwise, tasteful indeed.....