Colombian Copal
Can Colombian Copal be hardened?
In 1891, H. Beck developed a method of hardening natural resins. (British Patent No. 9747).
In 1911, F . Spiller developed a method of processing copal into an amber-like material. (German Patent 247734).
Today, by means of thermal treatment in an autoclave copal can gradually be hardened. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_amber It becomes comparable to amber in terms of hardness and processing viability, while the gemstones made of it are deceptively similar to amber.
Hardened copal can also be dyed and sparkles can be introduced. When copal products are treated, they can assume the colours of honey amber, geen, golden or cognac.
There are companies that bring to the gem market something they have named “Caribbean Amber”. The color is a pale green and beautiful to look at.
But it really is Colombian Copal treated through a sophisticated process in an autoclave (heat chamber). Neither is it amber from the Caribbean, but from South America. Natural Caribbean Green amber comes from the Dominican Republic. See: www.caribbeangreenamber.com
Unfortunately, like in the case of enhanced Baltic amber, in most cases the unaware public is kept in the dark and uninformed. Instead of it stories about a new discovery on an “undisclosed small Caribbean island” or similar are being told. This counds Caribbean romantic, Disney World Style, but is far too mysterious to be true. It is nothing but a blunt lie for the gullible.
We feel, if the truth were told, it would give more honor to the excellent workmanship of the producer of such a gem and to the designer of the beautiful jewelry that can be made from it.
(Want to buy Colombian Copal and try it out? Go to http://www.colombiancopal.com )
