Information about mining blue amber, why it is blue, how it is found and where you can buy it. There are many questions you might have about blue amber. When is it blue and when isn't it? The best way to test blue amber is placing it under an ultra-violet lamp which intensifies the blue olor to a radiant cobalt-blue. And, we have noticed that blue amber can be recognized by a very agreeable smell. One theory links the color in Dominican blue amber to the occurrence of volcanic ash or dust which was present when the resin was first pressed out from hymenaea protera millions of years ago. since fossilized amber was initially found on the shores much like ambergris, the linguistic confusion was complete. In addition, translated ancient documents, particularly those from Pliny the Elder's work Naturalis historia may also pertain t o the origin of the term amber as applied to the fossil resin (for a more complete etymology of the word amber, Dominican Blue amber is only found in one country: here in the Caribbean, in the Dominican Republic. If you want to buy Dominican blue amber, we as amber gemstone dealer and direct exporter are here directly at the foot of the mountain where blue amber is found with the best contacts into the mine to serve you the best we can. We of AmbarAzul sell Dominican Blue Amber and amber gem stones wholesale to you directly from the place of its very origin. Amber jewelry supplier and Dominican blue amber sterling silver jewelry and gold jewelry supplier using Dominican amber directly from the mines, as a manufacturer who offers custom crafted amber semi products and amber and silver jewelry, rough amber and raw amber from the Dominican mines in the Caribbean, aamber cabochons, or amb er cabs, mber earrings, amber bracelets, amber rings, amber chains, amber necklaces and blue amber necklaces as well as beads and cabochons and typical Caribbean amber jewelry. There are several theories about the origin of the blue color in blue Dominican amber and it is not fully understood what causes the blue color in Dominican blue amber. We know that it is a result of blue fluorescence and no solid blue color. The best way to test blue amber is placing it under an ultra-violet lamp which intensifies the blue olor to a radiant cobalt-blue. And, we have noticed that blue amber can be recognized by a very agreeable smell. One theory links the color in Dominican blue amber to the occurrence of volcanic ash or dust which was present when the resin was first pressed out from hymenaea protera millions of years ago. And - of course - besides the blue Dominican amber, we also have rough amber in regular amber colors and all those special amber colors like green amber and blood red amber, purple amber, as they are only found in Dominican Amber. The following list of Amber mines focuses on mines in the Cordillera Septentrional, a mountain range located between the coastal city of Puerto Plata and the secret capital of the Dominican Republic, the city of Santiago. There are two main arteries connecting the two cities, one highway taking the long way around the range, while the shortest and scenic road cuts straight through. The scenic road, known as the Carretera Turstica, the Tourist Road, has much history to it and it shows. The former nations dictator Trujillo built a luscious residence alongside it with its own private coffee plantation, and had the famous revolutionists the Mirabal Sisters brutally executed just a kilometer down the road (the incident was depicted in the movie In the Time of the Butterflies, featuring Salma Hayek). Blue amber comes in different shades of blue. It is difficult to put Dominican Blue Amber into categories, since our Caribbean amber is not an industrial product. In the lower quality (regular blue amber), the blue tone can only really be appreciated under an ultra violet light source. Then you will find a strong blue reflection in the yellow undertone of Dominican blue amber (strong blue). But there is also something we call "ultra blue amber" which is visible in almost any kind of light. This is extremely rare, hard to get and - of course - the most expensive kind of Dominican blue amber. And - of course - there is everything in between, never the same, because it is the beauty of nature and not a semi-industrial product like reconstituted and enhanced material from some other countries. Amber from the Dominican Republic is renowned for the diversity of fossils and inclusions it contains, the three rare "treasures", which are scorpions, lizards and frogs but also many other "bugs" in amber, like pseudo scorpion, fly, damsel fly, dragon fly, termite in amber. Therfore, we also offer fossil amber with bugs in amber. Our Dominican Blue Amber is the REAL thing, natural amber just the way it comes from the mines. While the mystery around the origin of its color has not been cleared, one thing is sure: Dominican Blue Amber is beautiful and it is extremely rare. Since Dominican amber is found in different mines, the quality varies. The really good stuff c omes from only three or four mines out of the dozen or so available. The difference lies in transparency, color and size, even shape, and ultimately price. For those uninitiated it is easy to mistaken Dominican amber for Dominican amber. Understandably. It takes a trained eye -- better yet, two -- to separate a batch of raw pieces.

Dominican Amber

By Alec Corday


Is it "amber"?

 The year is 1493 A.D. Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage to the West Indies arrives at La Hispaniola. To his surprise, a Taino indian chief offers him a gift of amber. Later, one single mass of three hundred pounds is found.

J.G. Haddow, in 1891 writes the above words, and this information has been published for over 100 years in our modern days.

But, Alas!, Dominican amber has not been known as much as Baltic amber. Is there a difference between one and the other?

Some Amber is considered to be up to 345,000,000 years old (Northumberland USA). Compared with this, both, Dominican with up to 40 million years (See New York Times, October 29, 2006 ) and Baltic amber, up to 50 mio, They both are "babies" compared with that.

Therefore, if it is not the age, what is it? Baltic amber is "succinite", from resin of coniferous trees. Is contains succinic acid, therefore the name. Dominican Amber is not "succinite" but "retinite". It is fossilized tree resin from an ancient relative of a tropical species called "algarroba" (lat.: Hymenaea Protera). But according to some scientists even this is not very important, but just a result of degradation: Y.Shashoua, National Museum, Denmark, 2002

So, what is the difference? Publicity. Yes, publicity that has been going on for several thousand years, at least since the times of the old Celts.

Although its existence has been known since the descovery of the island "La Hispaniola" by Christopher Colombus, Dominican amber mines are only a major source of amber during the last 50 years. But, because there is not much publicity, uninformed people who have not bought it on a visit to the island, don't even know about it. Seems that some still have to discover the "New World", 500 years after Colombus. Never mind, even some Dominicans don't know about it either. Why? Because ther is vey little of it.

The outcrop of Dominican amber is much, much less than Baltic amber, therefore it is RARE in the true meaning and not all over the world. See: Blue Amber, how rare? Hence, it is not the amber jewelry you will see in the Supermarket next door or at the flea market in your neighborhood. And - this is VERY important - it is never treated, never "enhanced", just natural amber as it comes from the mines. The real McCoy.

Although there are mines where even young Copal is found, much of the Dominican amber is real, old and hard amber. See Amber Turning Blue and Chemistry of Amber and scientific reference literature at the foot of this page.


Dominican Amber Mine Map Dominican Amber Mine Sites

 There are three main sites in the Dominican Republic: La Cordillera Septentrional, in the north, Bayaguana and Sabana, in the east. In the northern area, the amber-bearing unit is formed of clastic rocks, sandstone accumulated in a deltaic or even deep-water environment.

The oldest, and hardest of this amber comes from the mountain region north of Santiago area, from the mines at La Cumbre, La Toca, Palo Quemado, La Bucara, and Los Cacaos mining sites in the Cordillera Septentrional not far from Santiago.

Dominican Amber Mine Palo Alto Since the amber in these mountains is tightly embedded in a lignite layer of sandstone, holes are dug into the sides of the cliffs. The miners accomplish their work only with the help of primitive, simple tools and risk their lives daily. (see: Blue Amber Mining)

There is also amber in the (south-eastern Bayaguana/Sabana area. It is softer, sometimes brittle and suffers oxidation after being taken from the mines, therefore less expensive. And there is also copal found with only an age of 15-17 million years. In the eastern area, the amber is found in a sediment formation of organic-rich laminated sand, sandy clay, intercalated lignite as well as some solated beds of gravel and calcarenite.

Both areas seem to have been part of the same sedimentary basin, but later disrupted by movements along major faults. (Iturralde-Vincent and MacPhee, 1996).

If you want to know just what is a Dominican amber mine like, how many are there, what is their history? We have prepared for you an article series where we'll tell you everything you want to know about Dominican amber. Go to Blue Amber Blog: Dominican Amber Mines.

We also invite you to a trip to a Dominican amber mine: Dominican Amber Mine
And if you want to see a movie about it, go to: Blue Amber Channel

Much information about Dominican Amber, its advantages and how it is mined you will find in the book The Amber Forest: A Reconstruction of a Vanished World by George Poinar, Jr., and Roberta Poinar

You might also want to consult Discovering the lost world of the amber forests by the BBC Radio.

Haddow Dominican Amber
Main page J.G. Haddow, 1891 - Click to enlarge

Haddow Dominican Amber
Click to enlarge

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Blue Amber Information :


Other References :

ince Dominican amber is found in different mines, the quality varies. The really good stuff c omes from only three or four mines out of the dozen or so available. The difference lies in transparency, color and size, even shape, and ultimately price. For those uninitiated it is easy to mistaken Dominican amber for Dominican amber. Understandably. Blue amber is only found in one country: here in the Caribbean, in the Dominican Republic. If you want to buy Dominican blue amber, we as amber gemstone dealer and direct exporter are here directly at the foot of the mountain where blue amber is found with the best contacts into the mine to serve you the best we can. We of AmbarAzul sell Dominican Blue Amber and amber gem stones wholesale to you directly from the place of its very origin. Amber jewelry supplier and Dominican blue amber sterling silver jewelry and gold jewelry supplier using Dominican amber directly from the mines, as a manufacturer who offers custom crafted amber semi products and amber and silver jewelry, rough amber and raw amber from the Dominican mines in the Caribbean, aamber cabochons, or amb er cabs, mber earrings, amber bracelets, amber rings, amber chains, amber necklaces and blue amber necklaces as well as beads and cabochons and typical Caribbean amber jewelry. There are several theories about the origin of the blue color in blue Dominican amber and it is not fully understood what causes the blue color in Dominican blue amber. We know that it is a result of blue fluorescence and no solid blue color. The best way to test blue amber is placing it under an ultra-violet lamp which intensifies the blue olor to a radiant cobalt-blue. And, we have noticed that blue amber can be recognized by a very agreeable smell. One theory links the color in Dominican blue amber to the occurrence of volcanic ash or dust which was present when the resin was first pressed out from hymenaea protera millions of years ago. And - of course - besides the blue Dominican amber, we also have rough amber in regular amber colors and all those special amber colors like green amber and blood red amber, purple amber, as they are only found in Dominican Amber. Blue amber comes in different shades of blue. It is difficult to put Dominican Blue Amber into categories, since our Caribbean amber is not an industrial product. In the lower quality (regular blue amber), the blue tone can only really be appreciated under an ultra violet light source. Then you will find a strong blue reflection in the yellow undertone of Dominican blue amber (strong blue). But there is also something we call "ultra blue amber" which is visible in almost any kind of light. This is extremely rare, hard to get and - of course - the most expensive kind of Dominican blue amber. And - of course - there is everything in between, never the same, because it is the beauty of nature and not a semi-industrial product like reconstituted and enhanced material from some other countries. Amber from the Dominican Republic is renowned for the diversity of fossils and inclusions it contains, the three rare "treasures", which are scorpions, lizards and frogs but also many other "bugs" in amber, like pseudo scorpion, fly, damsel fly, dragon fly, termite in amber. by Alec Corday Santiago, November 2005 Bugs, feathers, plants and lizards. Plenty of them doing time in amber. Obviously they can be fit into a respective evolutionary pattern, which then should correlate to a certain time period in the long history of earthly evolution. Except they dont. Trying to fit amber inclusions into the evolutionary pattern has become a game of hammering the peg into the preconceived hole: sometimes they fit just perfectly, sometimes they don't, sometimes we have to cheat. And sometimes the peg is square and the hole is round and you have to hit hard to make it fit. But how old is Dominican amber, really? Can we take the geological numbers for granite? Where do these preposterous numbers even come from?