The board of the Gdansk International Fair Co. established strict regulations of the Amberif and Ambermart fairs and additional regulation rules stipulating in paragraph 12 the following rule: “At the fair it is forbidden to exhibit imitations and fakes of amber, and pressed amber have to be noticeably described and labeled in the Polish and English languages”. Imitations are products made of artificial or synthetic materials and also of raw or thermally modified fossils, scientifically described as sub-fossil resins (younger than 1 million years).
Moreover, exhibitors have to sign a declaration which states precisely requirements as it comes to labeling fossil resins other than the Baltic amber (those which are older than 1 million years), popularly called ambers with geographical designations (e.g. Dominican, Mexican).
The committee consisting of five people – experts and representatives of trade organizations – conducted control works with a support provided by dr. engineer Ewa Wagner-Wysiecka from Chemistry Faculty of Gdansk University of Technology. Randomly or because of doubts reported by the members of the committee as well as buyers and competitors, samples of products were taken in order to examine them by means of spectroscopic analysis in infrared radiation (IRS), which were marked at the same day at the Gdansk University of Technology.
It can be announced with satisfaction that all the doubts thanks to the analysis were resolved favourably.
However, the committee raised some objections, and among them:
1. A common lack of author’s or company’s signatures on figurines made of amber. It violates traditional rules as well as rules of the commerce law what was pointed out by the representative of the Trading Standards Department during the meeting with the signatories to the Gdansk Declaration on Good Amber Industry Practices on 21
st August 2006. The figurines – unlike the jewellery marked with names or necklaces with labels – devoid of any markings.
2. There are some doubts as it comes to a quality of amber coloured with the use of physical methods of the Lithuanian company Zumbrickas. The samples of this artificial colouring purchased by the members of the committee last year have totally faded since that time.
3. Among the people handling the fair stands there are very few specialists familiar with the rules of the classification of jeweller’s stones made of amber and as a result the buyers are misled as it comes to distinguishing natural and modified amber. An obligation to mark the products made of amber modified thermally or saturated with pigment should be taken into consideration.
4. Some stands offered products made of pressed amber which were not appropriately labeled. After the committee’s intervention this oversight was corrected. In motions for the future addressed to the Board of GIF Co. there is an order to print uniform Polish-English labels marking pressed amber which should be given to the exhibitors with such products before the stands’ arrangement.
The control committee cooperated with the Amber Laboratory of the International Amber Association with respect to a recognition of new types of amber imitations and a description of their characteristics as well as drawing up standard spectral curves of this substance at the Gdansk University of Technology.
Photo: Amberif fair
