Amber and Silver Facet Ring

• Amber - More frequently used to refer to the colour, than the material from which the word is derived, amber is the fossilized resin from ancient forests. It is not produced from tree sap, but rather from plant resin. The resin is aromatic, and can drip from and ooze down trees. In colour, it may be a deep honey colour, (amber), brown, or white. As it oozes out it fills internal fissures in the tree, trapping debris such as seeds, leaves, feathers and insects. The debris trapped within the amber can assist in dating the deposit.
  
  In its natural state it is found in rocks, on the sea floor (from where it may be washed up to the shore) and mined, using both open cut and underground techniques. About 90% of the world's amber comes from Russia. Amber has recently been discovered at Cape York in Northern Australia
  
  Amber is often incorporated in jewellery, and used in pipe stems. The shine on the surface of amber becomes even more intense when it is worn and used regularly. Genuine amber, when rubbed, will release a slightly musky scent.
• Shank - In jewellery, the shank of a ring is the hoop which encirles the finger.
• Faceting - Faceting is a technique of removing material from a curved surface, to give a series of flat surfaces but retaining the profile of the original surface.
  
  The technique is most commonly associated with diamond cutting where the various cuts used such as rose cut and brilliant cut, add life and sparkle to the stone, whilst at the same time removing as little of the stone as possible.
  
  Faceting by grinding is also used to decorate glass. The stems of many drinking glasses are decorated by cutting a series of flat surfaces on a circular stem, and hollow vessels such as vases may have faceted surfaces.
  
  In furniture faceting is often applied to legs of tables and chairs, where a circular baluster shaped section is flattened so as to form an octagonal section.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• rings, material - silver items 2,511
• rings, various gems / stones - amber 89