Russian Amber jewelry and souvenirs.

Tourists visiting Russia, love the Amber jewelry that can be found at the Baltic Sea. They make make beautiful gifts and souvenirs. Not only can you buy jewelry but you can also buy a variety of ornaments decorated with beautiful polished amber stones.The creativity always fascinates me and I can spend a long time looking at each one of the designs.

What is Amber?

Amber is a semi-precious stone that comes from ancient tree sap and over time turned into a stone. This process of fossilization takes place over millions of years. The color can vary between yellow or orange depending where you find the amber. The sap normally oozes from a cut in the bark where it hardens and then drops to the ground. Don`t confuse amber with Copal. Copal is much younger than amber but will eventually turn to amber over time. Like I said, this takes millions of years.

Characteristics of Baltic Amber.

Whenever we visited the beautiful town of Svetlogorsk at the Baltic coast, we would look for amber. Andrey`s mom is very good at spotting amber even at the age of 81. She loves walking along the shore to collect stones. Baltic amber can also be found in countries like Lithuania and Poland. Russia exports more amber than any other country in the world.

Baltic amber is normally orange to lemon-yellow in color and more than 50 million years old! For jewelry they like to use the clear to semi-clear amber. The cheaper jewelry are made from a more cloudy amber.

Sometimes you can find insects fossilized in the amber stone. These stones are highly valuable mostly because some of these insects have never been found anywhere else in the world.

Best places to buy amber gifts, jewelry and souvenirs.

Russian amber gifts can be found anywhere in Kaliningrad, Svetlogorsk, Zelonogradsk and towns around the Baltic coast. They are sold at markets and touristy places. I haven`t seen any amber gifts or souvenirs for sale in Moscow or St. Petersburg. In the same breath, I am sure there are shops in both cities where you can buy amber gifts and souvenirs. There are also on-line shops where you can buy amber gifts and have them shipped to your country.

The Amber museum in Kaliningrad.

The history of Amber is really fascinating and interesting. If you are in Kaliningrad then pay a visit to the famous Amber museum in the city. It is a great place to learn more about  Russian amber and there are many interesting exhibitions.

Where: Kaliningrad Oblast, Russian Federation

© Photographer: Nelieta Mishchenko | Agency: Dreamstime.com