Wieslaw Gierlowski
There are fundamental differences between the Polish classification and the principles in force in the Russian Federation . They pertain mainly to two issues:
1. According to the Russian classification, amber pressed from grains or meal can be used in jewellery with pigments or plasticisers added during the pressing.
2. It is admissible to paint the surface of amber products or the bottom sides of the gemstones set in jewellery.
The International Amber Association does not accept the use of gemstones made of pressed amber in jewellery; their use is allowed in decorative items. However, Russian products can contain a mix of elements made of amber nuggets and pressed amber. Pressed elements were even used in the reconstruction of the decor of the walls of the Amber Room . Moreover, the entire decor was painted and the paints used were patented.
The paints developed according to this patent are now used to paint contemporary works by distinguished artists (sculptures, amber mosaic pictures, decorative compositions). Arriving at an agreement concerning this issue between the two main manufacturing countries will surely be one of the more difficult tasks for the future. The Electronic Atlas of Baltic Amber by Siergei Pietrov, published by the State Institute of Amber and Regional Resources in Kaliningrad , covers gemstones and finished products made of materials considered to be imitations in Poland.
Polibern
Polibern is a combination of amber crumbs or plates with polyester resin (in rare cases with natural polystyrene). This is how, among other things, imitations of inclusions in amber are made: contemporary animals, plant fragments, shells and other specimens are placed on a plate of amber and then are embedded in synthetic resin. Example: catalogue group - 3.0.1.1. numbers 70 to 73;
70, 71 - Souvenir “The Shell” – Side view shows 2 layers of material: an amber base and an inclusion in synthetic resin;
72 - The Ladybird;
73 - The Ladybird – side view;
Example: catalogue group 3.0.1.2. numbers 74 to 78;
Semi-finished polibern products. Polymer-amber plates filled in 50-70% with fine amber.
74 - Amber crumbs of various colours fit tight to each other;
75 - Bone amber filling;
76 - Plate with different varieties of ground amber, rough surface;
77 - Profiles saturated with amber in various degrees;
78 - A filling which contains only transparent amber in a low weight percentage gives full transparency to the semi-product;
Bernite
Specified in the catalogue as group 3.0.3, bernite is in fact a polyester resin with a small addition of amber meal (ca 5%) which provides colour and scent (the scent when heated is similar to amber).
