Amber is the fossilized resin of trees. Most amber is golden yellow to golden orange, but green, red, violet, and black amber has been found. Transparent to translucent, it usually occurs as nodules or small, irregularly shaped masses, often with a cracked and weathered surface. Amber may contain insects (and more rarely frogs, toads, and lizards), moss, lichen, or pine needles that were trapped millions of years ago while the resin was still sticky. Air bubbles may give amber a cloudy appearance, but heating in oil will clear this. When rubbed, amber produces a negative electrical charge that attracts dust. "Amberoid" is formed by heating and pressing together scraps of amber.

The most famous deposits are in the Baltic region, particularly along the coasts of Poland and the former USSR. Baltic amber (known as succinite) washed from the seabed may reach as far as the coasts of England. Norway and Denmark. Amber from Burma is called burmite; Sicilian amber is known as simetite. Other localities include the Dominican Republic. Mexico. France. Spain, Italy. Germany. Romania. Canada. Czechoslovakia and the USA.

Amber has had a number of medicinal uses attributed to it, but today is used almost exclusively for jewellery. It has been imitated by plastic, glass, synthetic resin, and other natural resins, like copal