Amber Listserv / Amber lecture and fakes

[JOHN FUDALA]

Hi Adam,

Too bad I did not know of your lecture in advance, I would have loved to
attend- I live about 30 minute drive from there. Lake County is no farther
but I might be busy that weekend, unfortunately...
Unless this coming weekend in Detroit? Meeting Patty Rice in person would be
very nice!

John

On 10/9/07, ADAM SPIEGEL <spiegela at prodigy.net> wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> This past weekend I gave a lecture and Powerpoint presentation on amber at
> the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Arts in Elmhurst, Illinois (
> www.lizzadromuseum.org).  It was well attended and we had some good
> discussions.  If you are ever in the area, this is a small but nice museum
> with some beautiful lapidary exhibits, as well as fossils and minerals.
>
> One couple brought a box of supposedly Mexican amber specimens for me to
> view.  Large, beautiful, colorful pieces, some as much as 3 inches in
> diameter, all polished and many set in jewelry.  Unfortunately, all fakes.
> Full of giant flies, spiders and other inclusions of extant species, such as
> yellow jackets (!).  VERY well done fakes, but carved and wire wrapped in
> the style of the fake "amber" sellers of Chiapas and other parts of Mexico.
>
>
> This woman claimed she was sent the specimens from a dealer in Mexico
> City, who claimed they were "smuggled" out of Chiapas.  Nice story, but of
> course no smuggling is necessary (although the recent changes to the laws
> down there might make that necessary going forward).  She also claimed that
> she had shown some of the specimens to a jeweler, who had "tested" them and
> found them to be real.  Of course, she didnt know what kind of test they
> supposedly performed.  Probably the salt water test, which is meaningless,
> since many plastics float in a saturated salt solution as well.
>
> Anyway, she didnt want to believe what I was telling her, but that's human
> nature.  I am certain my diagnosis was correct.  It really is a shame that
> so many people are being taken in by these scams.  But they are alive and
> well, unfortunately.
>
> On another note, I will be in the Detroit area this coming weekend for the
> 62nd Annual Greater Detroit Mineralogical Society show.  Patty Rice will be
> there as well.  If anyone is going, please stop by and say hello.  The
> weekend after this coming one, I will be at the Lake County Gem and Mineral
> Society show in Gurnee, Illinois, a small but nice club show.  Hope to see
> some people at that one as well.
>
> Adam Spiegel
>
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>
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