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June 26, 2019 5 min read
Ancient Warmth and Eternal Beauty: The Endless Wonder of Amber
Every day, it feels as though the world grows ever more chaotic, ever more unstable, and ever more unpredictable. It’s all too easy to rush through each and every day, to hurry down the winding streets, and forget to stop, breathe, and take in the wonder of this natural world we all inhabit.
After all, there is joy to be found everywhere: all we need to do is take a moment to pause, to look to the horizon, to scratch beneath the surface of the cities we live in. It’s there in the roses growing along the sidewalks. It’s there in the stones beneath our feet, the waves which lap at our shores, and the ancient beauty of the trees, the skies, the earth. Beauty is all around us, and beauty has always been there; a constant companion, calling out for our attention and adoration.
To contemplate and meditate on those golden seconds, to give our appreciation to rare craftsmanship, the bedazzlement of natural materials, the marriage of this world’s greatest treasures… that’s the pathway to happiness, to bliss, and to the vibrancy that runs through the heart of the Smykke woman.
In this blog, we’re going to be taking a closer look at amber - one of the greatest gifts the natural world has to give. Ancient, mystical, and possessing a power and beauty which has no rival, this precious and unique material forms the inspiration behind many of the most spectacular treasures of the ages. When used alone in fine jewellery - or combined with other natural treasures and precious stones - it’s a material which never fails to win our hearts or remind us of everything that’s wondrous in this world.
The Origins and Secrets of the Gold of the North
Here in Denmark, we understand the importance and preciousness of natural beauty, perhaps more so than in any other nation. However, beneath our ancient soils, you won’t find much in the way of rubies, emeralds, and the diamonds which are prized by jewellers elsewhere in the world.
Instead, our land and jagged coastline is blessed with something every bit as dazzling as the aforementioned jewels: amber - the tears of the gods, the gold of the north, an iconic of our history and visual culture... a deeply special material which has inspired jewellers, artists, and lovers of life’s finer things for generation upon generation.
To understand amber is to look back across millions of years of history and prehistory. This golden-coloured substance began its journey as tree resin, oozing from the bark of ancient pine forests as far back as one hundred million years ago, forged in the dawn of time itself. Hardened and polished by the passing aeons, amber now bursts from the depths of the sea during the storms that autumn brings, and can be found washed up along the coast, or scattered across our beautiful coves as the tides recede. As such, amber is so much more than a precious stone or resin: it’s a snapshot of a different age, a moment captured in time from when this world looked very different indeed. It’s a reminder of our most ancient roots, a map back through history that leads to Pangea, to the cradle of life, and back to the nurturing, life-giving womb of the forest. No wonder, then, that amber has long been considered one of the most magical of all the Earth’s treasures, and one which continues to inspire and amaze to this day.
If you take a look through the museum corridors and history books detailing life in Medieval Scandinavia and Northern Europe, you’ll quickly notice that amber played a major role in the rise and prosperity of this part of the world. The Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons, the Normans, and many of their peers, enemy empires, and trading partners simply adored the ‘gold of the north’, and couldn’t get enough of its beauty or mystical properties. Amber was fashioned into beads, into brooches, amulets, idols, figurines, and many, many more items, to be bought and sold across the known world.
That enthusiasm for amber has never waned since, and jewellers today continue to be enamoured by its unique characteristics, it’s deep and fiery colour, and its stunning variations. The Gold of the North marches on through the present and into the future, lighting up the eyes of all who come across it.
Healing Powers and Ancient Energies
Since time immemorial, amber has fascinated healers, mystics, wise women, and ordinary folk alike, each of whom find themselves dazzled by the natural beauty and unique properties of this wonderful gem. In ancient Greece, amber was called ‘the tears of the gods’, and was considered to have a wide array of supernatural properties. The Romans utilised amber in a number of serums, lotions, and potions, seeing it as a gift from the sun itself. Here in Denmark, there is a proud and ancient history of considering amber as a stone with special healing properties, and it continues to attract those seeking alternatives to mainstream medicine and a deeper connection with the earth.
Amber is remarkable for the fact that it has a warmth and lightness associated with it - something absent from the coldness and inertness of many other gemstones. What’s more, the sheer number of mystical and supernatural properties and powers associated with amber outweigh many others, too. Indeed, amber is considered to have the ability to:
When it comes to the healing powers associated with amber, there are many to consider. Most of the healing beliefs surrounding amber have come about from the fact that amber possesses quite a powerful electromagnetic charge (in fact, the ancient Greek name for amber is ‘elektron’, from which we get the modern word ‘electricity’), and was used by ancient cultures to promote health and wellbeing.
Modern crystal healers and amber enthusiasts claim that wearing amber jewellery or practising crystal healing with amber can help with:
The Meeting of Mystic Forests and Tropical Seas
Light and darkness. Fire and water. The sun, and the sea. Life revolves around such binary oppositions, and in the coming together of the greatest of contrasts, we discover a sense of harmony, a sense of belonging, and a sense of peace. This is the concept and the inspiration behind the bringing together of Nordic amber and Tahitian pearls; one borne on the shores of the icy, windswept north, the other plucked from the calm seas of the tropics. Two corners of this world combined and complementing each other’s beauty in truly awe-inspiring ways.
Smykke Copenhagen is on a continuous quest to unveil the surprising, the contrasting, and the elegant in beautifully crafted ladies’ jewellery, and in combining Danish amber with Tahitian pearls, has managed to reach new heights in beauty and refinement. There is something of an elemental dance which takes place between these two utterly unique gems - in the amber, there exists all the warmth of the sun, of ancient fires, and of the burning hope and ambition which exists within contemporary femininity. In the inky, irresistible, and iridescent Tahitian pearls, there’s a flash of the tropical night-time, a secret of the sea, and hidden depths to be explored. Side by side on items of fine jewellery, they dance together in a flawless, everlasting sense of wonder.
Explore the full collection of amber and pearl pieces at Smykke Copenhagen today, and discover items of natural beauty with which to fall in love with, over and over again.