Featured Mixed necklace

I found this yesterday. Judging by the lobster clasp it's not that old. It has a few pieces of amber in it. Two of them are large butterscotch pieces. The other orange ish stones look like they are a type of quartz. The smaller red beads and the large red one, I haven't a clue.

 

It is a recent North African souvenir necklace, probably from Morocco.

I am not entirely sure the yellow beads are real amber, some plastics fluoresce as well. These souvenir necklaces are generally cheap and cheerful with ditto materials.
Also, the yellow seems to be a coating, looks like the two pinholes don't fluoresce.

 

Good shout. I think you could be right. I might be cheeky and take it back for a refund.

 

PS if some plastics fluoresce too, then how are we to tell?

 

There isn't a single home test for amber, there are several, including assessing the entire piece.
A dime a dozen souvenir necklace like this, pretty though it is, isn't likely to have genuine amber. It is also very unusual to see genuine amber beads combined with stone chip beads in the same necklace.

 

Makes sense thank you. I know you can burn it to assess the scent but that wouldn't go down well in any shop. Do you think the smaller 'amber' pieces maybe plastic too?

 

You can also rub it to assess the scent. And if you rub it vigorously on textile, your jeans for instance, it becomes static, so it picks up lint.

Do you mean the orangey stone chips? Those are carnelian chips.

 

No. I mean the small orange ones either side of the butterscotch ones

 

Probably also plastic. You can rub them to test for scent.

 

Okey dokes. I'll give it a whirl

 

Ho hum. Think my other amber necklace is plastic. A bead was broken so I removed it. I have taken a cigarette lighter to it and it smells like burning plastic.

 

The smell of burning plastic means it is.... plastic.

 

Possibly. I am keeping an open mind.