About Our Amber

All the amber pieces that we have for sale in our website, we personally collect firsthand by personally visiting miners in very remote areas of Chiapas . We have been in the buisness of selling Mexican amber for the last 18 years.

Mexican Amber History and Origin

Mexican Amber has become better known throughout the world only since the mid 1970”s. It was originally discovered by the ancient Maya Indians, long before Columbus came to America, Tales were told by Spanish “Conquistador’s” witnessing the great Aztec emperor “Moctezuma” stir his native chocolate drink with an amber ladle.

Mexican Amber has only been found in the “Chiapas” region of Mexico, where heavily forested mountains overlook the “Huitipan” River. It is believed to be a resin formed during the Miocene and or Oligocene epochs of the tertiary (18 to 22 million years ago). Dug out between layers of “Baluntum” sandstone & Black shale, & is believed to be formed from an ancestral "Hymenea" tree. All amber found in this area is of “Hymenea” origin. Yellow being the most known natural color, but it also occurs in Black, Red, Cognac, and very rare Green colors.

The ancient amber tradition has survived & is flourishing. Locally, natives collect & mine amber, for wear as amulets, or make small trinkets, carvings and pendants to sell to tourists. The amber is cut and shaped with saws, sandpaper and steel files, then polished either by hand with leather, Styrofoam or with a polishing wheel on a motor.

All the Mexican amber we sell is 100% Natural, it has not been heated, treated, or color enhanced by any artificial means, and is certified to be authentic, by the Mexican Government.

  Mexican Red Amber

MEXICAN RED AMBER is usually only found in the area of the mines that is closer to the surface. The particular layer of earth, in which the MEXICAN RED AMBER is found, is more porous and not as dense as the layers of earth in the interior of the mine. This oxygen rich, porous earth, has allowed for a slow oxidation process (in the millions of years) to turn the color from yellow to red

This amber absorbed and combined with oxygen, starting from its exterior, and ongoing slowly but not always fully into its interior (oxygen is known to be red in color)

MEXICAN RED AMBER is rarely ever found very deep within a mine, as no oxygen was present in the denser earth; therefore, New Mines have to be found before allowing production of red amber, which is not always present.

This natural oxidation process has been tried to be recreated artificially, mostly in European amber, by heat treatment accelerating the oxidation process; However as all amber has microscopic moisture bubbles inside, they burst when heated leaving tiny circular fractures inside, these marks being the proof that the amber has been heated.

The naturally oxidized Hymenea red amber is chemically different from yellow Hymenea amber. This can be proven by a simple test:

When heated or burned it has a much sweeter or more pleasant smell, any artificially died yellow Hymenea amber, would never have the same smell as the naturally red, as they would be chemically different.

Mexican Cognac Amber

 Mexican Cognac amber is natural Red amber that has had some of its oxidized surface removed, by hand sanding. This makes it clearer & allows more light to enter the piece, This material is very bright in color, this is why this is the most popular.

  Mexican Black Amber

Mexican Black amber is heavily included with organic materials such as dirt tree bark, moss, therefore its dark color, etc.

  Mexican Green Amber

It is the rarest and most cherished amber in Mexico. It is yellow in color, but will look a flourecent green in any lighting situation.

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