Amber Teething Necklace

Five Quick Tests to See if Your Baltic Amber is Real

An amber teething necklace is designed to bring your baby relief from the pain caused by teething. It worn around your baby neck and releases succinic acid, which has a soothing effect on your child. It not for chewing as the name suggests, but rather to ease the inflamed areas of the gums that cause your little person discomfort.

But how do you know youe getting the real deal? It might be copal resin, a substance that looks the same but doesn have all the health benefits. Baltic amber is a particular kind of material with very specific analgesic qualities. In order to get the right amber teething necklace, you need to try out these five quick tests on your purchase now.

Test #1: Mmm Delicious

The most precise test for this particular material match up is the old soap and water experiment. Youl also need your tongue. First of all youl have to bathe the suspect Baltic amber in soapy water. Then wash off all the soap in a basin of clean, fresh water. Immediately lick the Baltic amber.

Does it taste like chemicals? If it does then it probably copal, or another copy-cat amber substance. Real amber doesn taste like anything much.

Test #2: Sink or Swim

An amber teething necklace is often just copal in disguise. To avoid this, break out the table salt and some glasses filled with fresh water. You see, Baltic amber floats in salt water, while most other things sink to the bottom.

First test your necklace in a new glass of water. It will probably sink. Then measure out about seven teaspoons of salt and mix them into the next glass. Pop the amber in there. It floats!

If your Baltic amber necklace is attached to heavy jewelry this test won work, no matter how much salt you slip into the water.

Test #3: The Sneaky Feeling

Do you have a sneaky feeling that your amber necklace is so fake that it plastic? Or glass? Youl be surprised to discover how blatant some online vendors can be. Spotting a really bad fake is easy enough. If you suspect that it may be a string of glass beads, do the metal scratch test.

Glass doesn get scratched when you try and mark it with metal, while amber does. If you think it might be plastic, stick a hot needle through it. Plastic will create a perfectly burnt hole, while the amber gets all cracked and damaged. If there is a great looking insect in it, it fake as a general rule.

Test #4: Take a Deep Breath

An amber teething necklace of quality will give off the right odor when prompted to do so. Test your Baltic amber by either burning it, or heating it between your hands. It should smell lovely, like sweet forest pine. If it doesn the chances are its not real amber.

Test #5: Solvent the Problem

The final test to make 100% sure that your Baltic amber is the real deal is to chuck some solvent on a single bead. A single drop of nail polish remover (acetone) will reveal the fake in a second. That because copal will begin to dissolve in the solvent, while amber won.

There you have it! Five quick and easy ways to make absolutely sure that your baby is getting an authentic amber teething necklace. Nothing but the best will do for your child!

Here we have a single amber bead in a glass of water. Adding salt to the water will prove whether or not the bead is made from real amber or not. Will it float to the top? It will if its real. Click here to see the results!