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Re: Identifying True Amber (Succinite)



Good article!  I've known about all these tests except for the taste
test.  It is one test I'd probably not want to do on a regular basis though -
maybe as a last resort.

>Now finally the British Natural History Museum Bee to which I referred to
>earlier. I am afraid that none of the previous tests would have identified
>this particular fake. This specimen was made of real Amber out of which had
>been drilled a shallow hole. The Bee had then been placed inside the cavity
>and Amber which had been heated to melting point poured in over the top.
>Hey presto, a Bee trapped in real Amber. Bare this tale in mind next time
>someone offers you a 'real' T-Rex trapped in Amber, its probably a fake.

Add to your list, insect identification.  If the bee was properly identified, 
then the fake would of been caught.  Most insects in true amber are extinct,
and faking an extinct insect is not easy to do.  By the way, I thought the 
oldest bee is in the New Jersey amber, around 90 million years old.  
There's a picture of it in Poinar's book.  How old did they think the
bee in the British Natural History Museum was?

Ron Baalke