ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 20, 1996 TAG: 9610180009
SECTION: TRAVEL PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SUZANNE MURPHY-LARRONDE
The Amber Museum in Puerto Plata is just one of several places around the Dominican Republic where an amber epidemic is in full swing among foreign visitors and vacationers.
Taino Indians were probably the first of this country's inhabitants to value the tawny beauty of Dominican amber. Unpolished chunks were among their offerings to Columbus on his New World voyage in 1492, although the Spaniards quickly forgot them in pursuit of gold. Now centuries later the success of "Jurassic Park," in which Dominican amber plays a pivotal role, has again focused the spotlight on this fascinating gem.
Amber was one of the first semiprecious stones to catch the eye of early man (and woman). In ancient times, buoyant globs were culled from Baltic Sea shores and highly prized as ornaments and amulets. A demand for the resin-based gem created thriving trade routes to far-flung regions in Europe, North Africa and Greece. Amber is also native to parts of Sicily, Canada, Siberia, China, the Middle East, Burma, Alaska and Mexico.
Even in prehistoric times, amber possessed a special mystique, no doubt related to its ability to hold an electric charge when rubbed. European and Oriental cultures considered the organic gemstone to be a talisman with supernatural benefits that could protect the wearer in battle or against aliments as diverse as asthma and heart disease. By the early 16th century, entire books were dedicated to its curative powers and in 1701, King Frederick I of Prussia had an entire room built of this much revered and costly material.
Between 40 and 60 million years old, Dominican amber is positively pubescent by Lebanese standards where deposits, at twice that age, are considered to be the world's oldest (and hence hardest). Instead, the fame of the Dominican brand resides partly in its subtle range of tonalities - from the blondest of blonds, golden yellows, cognacs and reddish browns to faux black, so called because no amber is completely opaque. Added to that palette are the unique and expensive smoky-blue shades and an even rarer green, best appreciated under ultraviolet light.
These days, however, Dominican amber's other dominant features, the diversity, quality and abundance of what scientists term "fossil inclusions" are earning it the most recognition. And because the majority of island amber is honey-colored and limpidly translucent, its buried treasures are readily visible to the naked eye, making it especially irresistible to collectors and connoisseurs who regularly fork over thousands of dollars for the privilege of possessing a single piece.
At the Amber Museum, I viewed dozens of unusually large specimens hacked from mines in the country's mountainous interior regions such as Los Cacaos. Recessed in one resinous beauty was a wispy fern frond etched with the delicacy of a Japanese scroll painting. Still other chunks enclosed minuscule insects, layers of dust particles, water droplets, roots and the collection's true piece de resistance, a Lilliputian lizard, perfectly preserved and valued at more than $25,000.
Unsuspecting insects, small reptiles and other matter were trapped in gooey tree sap and mummified in the resin's natural preservatives. They time-traveled into the 20th century to become a favored medium for the scientific study of long-extinct forms of life.
Amber's unique appeal would appear to be growing not just among scientists, but collectors and the fashion minded from around the world. with the exception of one group, that is. While officially cited as the Dominican Republic's national gem, you probably won't see too many locals sporting amber jewelry. "For us it's nothing special", one young woman said in what seems to be something of a universal truth. "We'd rather wear an import."
LENGTH: Medium: 68 linesby CNB