Amber Listserv / Amber lecture and fakes

[kirk stephan]

"Nice story, but of course no smuggling is necessary (although the recent changes to the laws down there might make that necessary going forward)."

 Adam, 'Wondering what you might know about "...recent changes to the laws..." in Mexico??

 

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Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2007 17:07:07 -0700
From: spiegela at prodigy.net
To: amber at ambericawest.com
Subject: Amber Listserv / Amber lecture and fakes

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 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 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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