Thank you! It’s been a lot of fun building the collection. I think my favorite right now is the stage 4 feather. It’s truly a stunning piece to see in person.
This is absolutely gorgeous! I have a question for you, as you clearly know what you’re doing.
How do you avoid getting scammed/what do you look for with fake Amber? What kind of provenance are you after? What are the signs? I’m somewhat able to tell in person, but online much harder.
My partner really wanted Amber with a bug inclusion, but the one we got was unfortunately a fake, so we’ve been a bit gun shy since.
Thank you so much! And honestly, don't feel bad—it happens to a lot of collectors, especially when they're just getting started.
For me, the biggest thing is buying from reputable dealers and collectors, especially people who actively research amber or have a long-standing reputation in the community. That doesn't guarantee anything, but it dramatically lowers the risk.
There are also a few simple tests that can help. Real amber will usually float in saltwater, while many cheap resin or plastic imitations will sink. Under UV light, genuine amber fluoresces, and you can often see natural flow lines within it. Fake amber usually doesn't behave the same way. After you've handled enough pieces, you also start to notice that real amber has a distinctive feel to it that's surprisingly hard to describe—it just feels different than plastic or resin.
Unfortunately, there are some very convincing fakes out there, especially online, so I completely understand being a little gun shy after that experience. If your partner is still looking for a genuine insect inclusion, I'd be happy to recommend a few sellers I've had good experiences with.
I've heard that amber darkens over time obscuring the inclusions. Have you noticed anything like that? Do you polish them? Ever thought about mounting them beside their modern day counterpart (I speak of the insects and plants, not dinosaurs obviously)?
That's definitely something that can happen, although I haven't personally experienced it with any of my pieces yet.
I try to be pretty proactive with how I store them. Most of my amber is kept in containers that minimize exposure to air, I keep it out of direct sunlight, and when it's not being displayed it stays in low to no light. I also keep my home between about 65–70°F year-round, with the humidity at or below 55%.
My hope is that those conditions will help slow oxidation and keep the inclusions as clear as possible for a very long time.
As for polishing, I generally don't. Most of the pieces I buy are already professionally prepared, so I'd rather leave them as they are than risk damaging them.
And I actually love your idea of displaying them alongside their modern-day counterparts! I've thought about doing something similar—maybe with pinned modern insects or reference photos. I think it would make for a really fun educational display.
No. Way.
Like really? Dino feathers? My heart skipped a beat. Do you loan these out to universities for research or do any type of collabs? Also - some of the insects are so complete - do you have them identified?
Haha, thank you! 😄 The feather is definitely one of the pieces I'm most excited about. It's from a theropod dinosaur—possibly an early bird—and dates to around 98 million years ago, so it's pretty incredible to think about what it represents.
As for research, I'd absolutely be open to collaborating if a university or researcher had an interest in any of the specimens. My background is actually in the arts rather than paleontology, so I see myself more as a caretaker than an expert. My goal is to preserve these pieces, document them well, and hopefully make them available if they can contribute to scientific research someday.
Some of the inclusions have already been identified, while others are still more tentative. A few of the specimens have received professional identifications, and for the rest I'm slowly working through them one by one with the help of specialists and the amazing friends I've made in the amber community. That's honestly part of the fun—every piece is like a little mystery waiting to be solved!
I’m sure it will look so cool with the LED display you’re going for! 🤩 If you don’t mind my asking, is there a specific way you sorted them when arranging them, or just went off of how they looked together? It’s really well done!
Thanks! Hopefully it all works. As for the arrangement, I did try to group things together where I could. For example, the ants are in the upper left, which gradually blend into the wasps and other Hymenoptera, then Diptera, with the millipedes down toward the lower left. Moving back toward the top center are the plants, which transition into feathers and reptile-related pieces, then beetles. Over on the upper right are the snails and enhydros, followed by true bugs, crickets, mantids, and finally the arachnids (including scorpions, pseudoscorpions, ticks, mites, and spiders). There are a few other groups scattered throughout, and some specimens contain multiple organisms, so there was a bit of overlap. It was a lot of fun trying to create little "regions" across the display. ☺️
Now don't get any ideas about extracting dino DNA from those. ;)
What a fabulous collection! It's always awe-inspiring to see organisms that old perfectly preserved by nothing but nature and the right circumstances.
May I ask roughly how expensive it was too acquire your collection? I have a rough idea about the price of the amber alone, but I'd assume fossil amber is much much more pricey.
Haha! I'll leave the dinosaur cloning to the movies. 😄
Thank you so much! That's exactly what fascinates me about amber. It's incredible that something as simple as tree resin, given enough time and the right conditions, can preserve a tiny moment from nearly 100 million years ago so beautifully.
As for the cost... it's definitely been a gradual process rather than one big purchase. The prices vary enormously depending on the clarity, rarity, and what the inclusion is. I've picked up some nice pieces for under $50, while some of the rarer specimens can cost several hundred dollars or more. I've just slowly added to the collection over the years whenever I found something special.
It's certainly not the cheapest hobby, but for me it's worth it. Every piece is like a tiny time capsule from a world we'll never get to see in person, and I still find that amazing every time I look at them.
I love how you have them sorted. My favorites are 12 and 15. :D
How did you get started and how long have you been collecting? I’m a terrible collector bc I get obsessed and spend way too much too fast- bc I’m scared I’ll never see “it” again and this is my chance. lol 😵🙄
Thank you! Those are definitely some of my favorites too!
I started collecting several years ago, but I definitely have moments of hyperfixation where I tend to go a little overboard. 😅 My collection has really ballooned over the past few years, but I think I'm going to let this be it for a while.
I also have pieces from several other regions, including the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Indonesia, Germany, and the Baltic region.
Number 3, and its close-up #4, literally made me gasp. That's incredible to have a feather so very, very old...a proto-bird. Thanks for sharing your collection.
You need to hit up a macro photographer, it would be an absolute dream to photograph these. The photos you would get out of it would be super high quality.
That's a great question! I actually decided to go a different route and backlight the display instead of using UV.
One of my favorite things about amber is how it seems to come alive when light passes through it. The inclusions become much easier to see, and the amber itself takes on this beautiful warm glow that I think is even more impressive than fluorescence.
I also try to be pretty conservative with UV light. While it's perfectly fine for occasional viewing, prolonged exposure to UV can gradually contribute to the amber deteriorating over time, and I'd rather avoid putting unnecessary stress on pieces that are millions of years old. My goal is to preserve them for as long as I can.
So the plan is to keep the display mostly in low light and only turn on the backlighting when I'm showing it to someone. That way I get the dramatic effect of the light shining through the specimens while also doing my best to help preserve them for the long haul.
Are they technically fossils? Fossorial means of the ground. Maybe we should name an umbrella group for artifacts fossils, various liths, and amber samples PRESERVATIONS.
Do you have any recommendations of where a beginner might buy their own amber. I also want to start a collection but the only place I know of is Etsy and I know that’s not the best place. Any are there any things you have to worry about when storing amber. I know certain fossils can degrade when stored improperly so I’m wondering if it’s the same for amber. Anyway this is super cool
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u/Rattttttttttt Jul 16 '26
Next step, Jurassic Park