Fossil Amber

I love fossil resin (a.k.a.,, fossil amber, a.k.a., amber). Only in fossilized plant resin do you find the perfect fossils, with even small portion of the original DNA preserved. In terms of preserving ancient animals and plants in a life-like appearance, the fossil resin tomb has no equal. Seeing the preserved details, of course, requires a good jeweler’s loupe, normally available for under $30. My favorite fossil resin is the younger material from Colombia, South America – it is far and away the most intriguing, albeit much younger than its counterparts from Eastern Europe (Baltic) and the Caribbean Island of the Dominican Republic. Simply put, the Colombian fossil resin is far and away the most exotic, often containing numerous animals, plants and even fungi that represents a cross section of life forms from their ancient rainforest environment. The insects (and my favorite spiders and other arachnids) are often abundant. Also, the Colombian material was once less expensive, thanks in part to having been derogatorily labeled as copal rather than amber by those having commercial interest in the so-called authentic amber from the Baltic and Dominican Republic. Not so any more, as the importation cartels have disintegrated, and the older material has become dirt cheap (no pun intended), thanks, I think to e-bay, at least in part.