Storing fragile amber

[Ericlin]

I brought a small lot of amber; they are from the hell creek formation, wibaux county Montana. I was wonder how I should store them. They are extremely fragile, and I’m not sure if I should use superglue or something on them. Let me know if there is anything else I should know about storing them and thanks alot!

[Ericlin]

Anyone have any ideas?

[Psittacosaur9]

I don't have any fragile amber, but I would recommend that, like all fragile fossils, you keep it in an airtight container, perhaps alongside something that reduces air humidity. If anyone does have fragile amber, I hope they see this post and comment on it, so you can hear their opinion.

[Crusty_Crab]

According to this paper from 2012: https://bioone.org/journals/american-museum-novitates/volume-2012/issue-3734/3734.2/Variation-in-the-Deterioration-of-Fossil-Resins-and-Implications-for/10.1206/3734.2.full, amber should be stored in an environment with stable humidity, relatively low heat and minimal exposure to light. There is the possibility that embedding amber in a high grade epoxy may help. Superglue does not count as a high grade epoxy to me. 

 

A more recent paper https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021ESRv..22003653S/abstract suggests the same thing, with added detail recommending humidity be a constant 50%, temperature at a constant 18 degrees C, and kept in the dark as much as possible. They like EpoTek 301-2 resin to embed in. Any other solvents, oils, or other mixtures should be avoided.

 

[holdinghistory]

Agreed, the key will be controlling the humidity and minimizing light exposure. Neat pieces by the way, you don't see a lot of amber from US localities.