Is your amber real?
Amber Laboratory
Check if your amber is real! Research on amber products using the reliable infrared spectroscopy method.
We encourage you to check the authenticity of Baltic amber and products made from it on the only spectrometer used in Krakow – and one of three used for this purpose throughout Poland.
Confirming the authenticity of amber is becoming increasingly difficult because imitations are ever more perfect and hard to recognise. The victims of these dishonest practices are not only end customers but also the owners of jewellery shops and salons, who have no access to testing equipment.
Such apparatus – a reliable, modern NICOLET iS10 spectrometer with ATR attachment – is available in the Amber Laboratory operating at the Amber Museum in Krakow at ul. St. John 2. This method uses mid-infrared light, which, bouncing off the outer surface of the sample, causes vibrations of bonds between atoms, which are recorded as the spectral spectrum characteristic of a given substance.
The tests are confirmed by a special certificate signed by the Amber Portal amber.com.pl. The certificate is in English, you will find there information such as: weight, colour, additional materials used in the jewellery product (type and test of metal) and annotation on the known modification processes that the amber was subjected to. Attachments attached to the certificate are a photo of the tested product and a printout of the spectral spectrum along with information on how the sample (in %) matches the succinite standards.
Testing price list
The market price of a test is PLN 30 per item, and a test with a certificate costs PLN 50.
| Number of samples | Testing | With a certificate |
|---|---|---|
| 10–20 | PLN 25 | PLN 45 |
| 21–30 | PLN 20 | PLN 40 |
| 31–50 | PLN 15 | PLN 35 |
| over 50 | PLN 10 | PLN 30 |
Information
Testing is available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4.30 to 6.30 pm.
Visit the exhibitionAmber Museum
Dear visitors! Since November 2023 our Amber Museum has taken a new form. The exhibition is now smaller and is open to you as part of the Boruni Gallery.
Adults, and children accompanied by an adult, can visit the Museum during opening hours without booking in advance.
Opening hours:Daily: 10-20
Admission is free.