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It's so pretty, but is it legal?
A look at the gems of animal origin (for example tortoiseshell, coral and ivory) that we cannot bring back from holiday because they are covered by trade bans.
A look at some of the amber fakes on the market today, and what to avoid when buying it.
IT'S SO PRETTY, BUT IS IT LEGAL?
A look at the jewellery and animal products that we cannot bring back from holiday.
Picture the scene: you are on holiday in some exotic place, and see a very pretty necklace in a shop window. It would make a beautiful and long-lasting souvenir of the holiday and bring back many happy memories. But what is it made of? And is it one of the banned items from protected species?
One such example is tortoiseshell, which comes mainly from a marine turtle called a Hawksbill. The shop assistant tells you that tortoiseshell is legal, and that you can safely buy it. That may be correct at the point of sale and you may be allowed to export it. But can you import it into your own home country?
The answer is probably no. If you declare it in customs you will have to hand it over as prohibited goods. If you do not declare it, and it is found in your luggage, you will also be liable for a hefty fine or prosecution.
Marine turtles:
Green (left), Hawksbill (centre), and tortoiseshell box (right).
There are, unfortunately, no hard and fast rules governing all the protected species world-wide. Many countries are now signatories to CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (an international agreement between governments – see below), whose aim it is to ensure that the survival of wild animals and plants is not threatened by international trade.
CITES was started in 1973 and more and more countries are still joining, but not every country world-wide has signed up. And even amongst those that have, some insist on exemptions for certain species. For example, when Japan signed up an exemption was made for tortoiseshell, though the Japanese government agreed to halve its imports.
CITES operates internationally, not domestically. Their bans concern international trade only. It is worth remembering this when abroad. Some countries adopt CITES bans domestically, but others do not. Hence within some countries the culling of endangered animals is allowed. An example of this is South Africa, which allows some culling of elephants. Ivory taken from these elephants can be used, but it cannot be taken beyond the country’s borders. Therefore it is possible to buy ivory items in South Africa, but not to take them out of the country.
Elephants in Namibia (left). Various types of ivory inc. elephant, walrus, hippo and narwhal (right).
OK. So we dare not buy ivory in Africa to bring home. But what about the elephant hair jewellery? Again, no! It comes from the elephant, and it is the whole animal, not just its tusks, that is protected.
In the United States each separate state has different rules and regulations, so what is permissible in one state may not be allowed in the next. And, just to add to the general confusion, every agreement may be interpreted in different ways. Thus some countries such as the UK may have extremely strict interpretations of how ivory that pre-dates the trade bans can be used, saying that it cannot be re-worked and sold for commercial gain, while in other countries that would be perfectly acceptable – as long as the ivory was first worked and sold before those bans came into force.
Another gem material that may or may not be affected is coral. Coral is not a plant, but a colony of minute animals called polyps. It grows very slowly. In some areas of the world it has been fished out and there is little left. In other areas the stocks are fine and trade is permitted. But can you tell whether that little coral pendant is from the area with restricted fishing or from one where it grows in abundance?
And is black coral amongst the protected species or not? Again, some is and some is not. Black coral comes not only from the seas around different countries, but also from different species – there is not just one type of black coral.
Blue coral is listed under Appendix II of CITES, which means that it can be traded but only under strict rules, regulations, and quota. Yet it is still available to purchase in many places. The last time we at Organic Gems came across blue coral for sale we were assured that it was from old stock. But it is impossible to be sure.
Blue coral.
And how does a quota work? The Inuit are allowed to catch a small quota of whales on a cultural basis. They may then carve their (ivory) teeth and sell them. But if you buy the carving in, for example Greenland, can you take it home?
There are, of course, the incidents of total disregard for any laws, much less for the survival of the animals. Thus it is possible to see new ivory items for sale in certain countries alongside items made of mammoth ivory – which, having been extinct for 10,000 years or more, is not covered by trade bans. The unwary purchaser will probably be told that it is all mammoth ivory and therefore legal. Another ruse is to write out a receipt stating that the item is antique -- which it clearly is not – thus giving the purchaser a clear conscience and something to show the customs officers back home.
Some animals may seem plentiful to the tourist, for example Queen Conch in the Caribbean, when in fact they are now becoming threatened. Conch shell is used for carving cameos, and very occasionally a conch will contain an immensely valuable conch pearl. However in their case extinction threatens not because of their beautiful shells, but because of their tasty meat. Always a local delicacy, it has now become a must-have delicacy in some of the Far Eastern countries. The Queen Conch is now listed under CITES Appendix II and fishing for conch is forbidden in some areas, but they are still being caught and eaten.
Conch shell (one end sawn off to show colour layers), conch beads and conch cameo.
There are also animals that are endangered yet not covered by trade bans. Because so little is known about their habitat, it is not possible to create bans. One such is the nautilus, which lives in very deep water. A pre-historic animal with a fascinating and beautiful shell, they are caught and turned into inexpensive jewellery, such as the bracelets illustrated below. Here just the central whorls (called the ‘coque-de-perle’) from several young animals have been mounted in silver. These bracelets are not one-offs, but are in mass-production.
Nautilus shells, polished, cut in half and whole (left), and bracelets (right).
Threatened? Endangered? Banned or not banned? Quota? Are you bewildered? Hardly surprising! Even the experts who work with these rules and regulations every day can sometimes have difficulty interpreting them. The best advice is to contact your country’s official bureau and find out exactly what the rules are, before you buy anything and try to take it home. (CITES member countries’ representatives can be found on the CITES website.) Consider what might be on offer in the country that you are about to visit and phone and check before you leave home. Some materials can be exported and imported with a CITES license which states exactly what the item is, and its provenance. A reputable dealer would be able to give advice and to supply a CITES license where appropriate. There are some items -- such as rhino horn --that we all know are severely under threat, and therefore banned. But if you are in doubt when confronted with that pretty necklace, use discretion. A dealer that is too persuasive is possibly not to be trusted. And remember that extinction is not temporary – it is for ever.
Black rhino in Namibia.
The following is taken from the CITES website www.cites.org, with their permission:
The species covered by CITES are listed in three Appendices, according to the degree of protection they need.
- Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances.
- Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival.
- Appendix III contains species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade. Changes to Appendix III follow a distinct procedure from changes to Appendices I and II, as each Party’s is entitled to make unilateral amendments to it.
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IS IT REAL AMBER?
What to avoid when buying amber.
One hears so much about amber, and how it is imitated or faked. How can one tell what is real?
It is not difficult to spot the blatant fakes. A street seller in the Far East that sells bangles and necklaces in bright rainbow colours and tells you that they are amber is obviously twisting the truth somewhat. An item being sold on the internet as a ‘rare eighteenth century red amber carving’ with an auction starting price of US$6, is almost certainly made of modern plastic, as the real thing would run to four figures and would not need to be sold as a bargain online.
Plastic amber imitations.
But how do you spot the less obvious fakes? How do you know whether a pendant set in silver is amber, and if it is, whether it ‘has had something done to it’?
The best way to buy amber is to purchase it from an experienced and reputable amber dealer, who will be prepared to put his reputation on the line. You will not be paying bargain prices, but nor will you be throwing your money away. However, that is undeniably less fun than bargain hunting, and it is a pity never to dare to buy anything. But can we, for example, trust the antique dealers?
The real thing! Natural Baltic amber (left) and clarified Baltic amber (right).
There is a huge amount of faked material for sale, and very often the people selling it have no idea that it is not ‘real’. An example of this is the online auctions, where individual sellers offer ‘cherry amber’, ‘green Caribbean amber’, and many other types for sale, truly believing that they are selling a genuine product. These items are also found at local antiques fairs and in small antiques shops. The vendors have usually bought the items in good faith, and are simply selling them on with the description they were given.
There are a few rules of thumb that we can use when buying amber. Firstly: colour. Basically, ambers occur in colours ranging from pale honey to dark brown, and some can be transparent or opaque.
BLUE amber does not exist. Amber may have a blue tinge to it when viewed in light containing ultra violet rays (e.g. sunlight), as it can fluoresce giving a blue colour. This is especially true of some amber from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Myanmar.
Amber never has a GREEN body colour, but it can be treated to give the illusion of being green. Baltic amber is treated in many ways, one of them being to heat the back of a piece till it is burnt, This makes the amber look green, when viewed from the front. The same effect can be produced by backing the amber with black material, usually plastic. Also, Dominican and Mexican ambers can fluoresce and look green in the right light, but the amber is in fact golden.
Baltic amber with a black backing, making it appear green.
RED amber does exist, but it is extremely rare, and the natural colour is a slightly rusty red. The amber found in Myanmar, called ‘burmite’ is 100 million years old and occurs in colours ranging from clear golden through red to very dark brown. It is only mined occasionally and in very small quantities, so the chances of coming across it are remote.
Baltic amber, which represents at least 98% of the amber on the market today, can be treated in a variety of ways, such as to turn opaque material transparent, induce the little, sparkly ‘sun spangles’ (usually thought to be proof that the amber is ‘real’), and to darken its colour, including turning it red (‘cherry amber’). These are acceptable treatments.
Phenolic 'red amber' beads (left), and amber chips in plastic, called 'Polybern' (right).
It can also be ground into small chips or to a powder and re-formed (‘pressed amber’) which is difficult to discern and should be disclosed by the seller, but often is not. Further, powdered amber can also be mixed with plastic and possibly dyed, or small amber chips are mixed into plastic and moulded. These should not be called ‘amber’.
And of course, there is pure plastic. It is not a new way of copying amber. One of the most common examples is the strands of red facetted beads (made of phenolic resin) which were made in quantity about fifty years ago, and which often turn up at antiques fairs or online auctions, where they sell for five or six times their true value.
Finally, there is a relatively new amber imitation on the market. Amber – which is millions of years old -- is now being copied by a younger, immature resin called copal which is probably only a few of thousand years old, and the resulting material can be very difficult to distinguish from ‘the real thing’. Fortunately, this copal is often treated to make it pale, transparent green, and -- as we already know – real green amber does not exist.
Treated copal sold as 'green amber'.
So the final word of advice can only be that if you find something that you really like, but are unsure as to whether it is real or not, only pay what it is worth to you.
This may be all you need to know about amber, but should you wish to learn more about it, and the treatments and imitations on the market today, subscribe to 'Organic Gems'. Issue 3 contains an article that goes in depth into the subject of Baltic amber treatments, while Issue 4 covers the 100 million year-old amber from Myanmar. And remember: a subscription enables you to contact Organic Gems with your questions.
Issue 1 of Organic Gems is freely available. To read it, click here.
To view a full list of the articles published in the subscribers' section of Organic Gems, click here.