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Amber: The Dominican Republic's Gem Which Inspired Jurassic Park

By Habeeb Salloum

Amber jewellery at the Amber Museum in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Photo by Habeeb Salloum.

It must have been far from the minds of the creators of the highly successful movie, Jurassic Park, that introducing Dominican amber imbedded with insects, found on that island republic, would initiate a run on the sale of this centuries-old attractive resin. Yet, this is what has happened. Apparently, the scenes of the actors inspecting amber encasing perfectly preserved insects has created a huge demand for what has been called 'the Dominican Republic's golden gem'.

During my numerous trips to Puerto Plata, the Dominican Republic's main tourist resort, I have been always been intrigued by the great variety of amber products offered to gawking visitors in the countless tourist shops. The gem's warm-golden transparency and attractive lustre invariably held me enthralled. Like the ancients who for thousands of years prized and held it in high esteem, this treasure of early man had entrapped me in its aura of mystery and romance.

Primitive tribes in the Bronze and Iron Ages endowed amber with mystical qualities and utilized it as a currency and in their religious practices. In the lands edging the Baltic Sea, where it has been known since man first walked that part of the earth, it was believed that amber protected the living and sped the dead on their journey to the other world. Hence, it was placed in tombs to ensure immortality. In Greek mythology, the Heliades, sisters of Phaëthôn, the favourite child of the sun-god Heliôs, were transformed into trees from whose branches tears continually fell and hardened into this rich looking resin.

Known as the 'golden gem of the ages', amber is found all over the world, from China to Sicily and the Dominican Republic, but its greatest concentration is in the area of the Baltic Sea. From 40 to 60 million years ago gigantic forests of coniferous trees covered a large section of this region, now mostly submerged beneath the waters. The fossilized resins of these trees evolved through the centuries into amber – known to the Classical World as 'the gold of the north'.

Amber necklace made consisting of amber from the Baltic and the Dominican Republic. Photo by Habeeb Salloum.

Phoenician traders, in the early days of history, carried Baltic amber to the worlds of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. The Greeks named it elektron – derived from the Phoenician el ek (the resin) – from which our word electricity comes. The name 'amber' came into English from the Arabic anbar, a word meaning ambergris – regurgitated lumps from the stomach of whales which have no relation to this miss-named gem.

A product originating from living organisms, amber is not truly a mineral even though it is usually obtained by mining. In the main, it is found in loose sands and clays in irregular lumps or nodules which are often washed ashore by the ocean waves. Soft, light in weight and very brittle, these fossil resin shapes, at times, have been found to enshrine at least 1,000 species of mostly extinct insects and crustaceans.

Amber comes in hues ranging from pale yellow to rich brown, but can be also found in black, blue, green and red. Altogether, there are over 250 known colour varieties. The top quality is transparent and, by far, the most common is bright yellow – a shade the ancients associated with the sun which many worshipped. When burned, its pungent odour of pine needles made it excellent for incense fires in their temples.

Readily cut, drilled and polished; and warm to the touch, amber has since prehistoric times been universally popular for personal adornment and other ornamental products. Besides all types of jewellery, it is often carved into knife handles, candlesticks, plaques, rosary beads, statues and table vessels. More than any other gem, it lends itself to reconstruction. Under high pressure small pieces can be fused together to produce a product called amberoid which has the characteristic of the untreated resin.

Amber jewellery, Amber Museum, Dominican Republic. Photo by Habeeb Salloum.

In addition to ornamental uses, amber has from time immemorial been worn as an amulet and employed for medical purposes. The negative charge of static electricity, produced when it is rubbed, gave it a reputation for curing certain diseases. It was believed by medieval physicians that an amber necklace was an efficacious remedy for throat disorders, especially goitre. Others prescribed it to restrain the flux in the body, as an antidote to poison, to ward off nervous afflictions, relieve asthma, aid in the alleviation of both deafness and dimness of sight and to ease bouts of dysentery.

In our times, even though amber can easily be imitated, the real product is still very much valued as an ornamental material and for its use in certain expensive lacquers and varnishes. A volatile oil is also extracted from this fossil resin and employed medically in cases of infantile convulsions.

Outside the Baltic countries, which remain the fountainhead of amber, the most plentiful source is found in the Dominican Republic. It has been mined in that country since it was first mentioned by Columbus in 1496 on his second voyage to the New World. Two of the main deposits are located near the northern shore of the island which has been labelled 'the Amber Coast' – in the Cordillera Septentrional at Palo Alto and in the Samaná region.

Dominican amber, mined by hand, is the resin of a now extinct tree called Hymenaea protera, found in a grey sandstone and seashell mixture. It is more brittle than other varieties and tends to easily break when subjected to sharp blows. A true Western Hemisphere resin, this New World amber is very attractive and found in colours from crystal clear, blue, green, beige-yellow, black-golden to purple – to gem experts, a colour unmatched even by sapphire.

The lumps of hardened sticky resin are embedded with fossils such as scorpions, ants, flies, spiders, tiny lizards and other creatures that lived in the Tertiary period over 50 million years ago. These fauna inclusions, much more abundant than found in the amber mined in the Baltic lands, are of immense value to collectors the world over.

Skilled craftsmen turn out from this ancient gem exquisite bangles, earrings, necklaces and charms. A favourite type of jewellery is made from silver or gold-filled wire wrapped around polished amber or used to string up drilled semi-polished nodules into bracelets and necklaces. Most of these artisan products tend to have a distinctive quality which reflects the now extinct Taino Indian culture. Without doubt, they are the best buys a tourist can make in the Dominican Republic.

Amber necklaces, Amber Museum, Dominican Republic. Photo by Habeeb Salloum.

One of the top places where a visitor can view and purchase these products is a bazaar-museum complex in Puerto Plata – the heartland of the country's amber industry. The ground floor consists of a seven room bazaar where amber goods are made and sold. It is an excellent handicraft shop which features many types of jewellery not available elsewhere in the Republic.

The second floor houses one of the Western Hemisphere's unique museums, featuring the world's largest collection of amber. The most interesting of these exhibits, displaying rough pieces from shale and sediment encrustation to perfectly polished jewels in all shapes and forms, celebrates the long history of what Dominicans call 'the burning stone' or 'transparent gold'. It is said that after visiting this museum-marketplace, vacationers will always fondly remember the Dominican Republic for its 'golden gem of the ages'.