Featured Are there an amber experts around?

I accidentally purchased this amazing necklace and I know zero, nada, zilch about amber. It's pretty large and has all kinds of little floating sea urchin looking things inside. Can someone please school me in it's origin and possible value...since I have to eventually explain this accident to my husband.

-Shelley

 

I "accidentally purchase" expensive trinkets too. Hate when that happens.

Debora

 

The amber has been heat-treated, but that's all I've got. It's not horribly old. With no marks I'm not sure where it came from. Are there any inside the bail? Sometimes makers hide them.

 

It is pressed reconstructed amber. So originally several pieces of genuine amber, heated and pressed together.
The little floating sea urchin looking things are small pockets of air trapped in the amber. That can occur naturally, but when there are this many it is a sign of pressed amber. The visual effect is sometimes called spangling, because they reflect the light like spangles.

 

Yes, the silver looks like sterling too.