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Natural organic and biogenic materials · Organic or biogenic material · Natural identity; treatment status unknown
Golden Amber
A colour trade name for golden-yellow amber, listed under “amber” in Table A.3 of GB/T Annex A; not a separate mineral species. This page compares how the major standards and institutions name it, what must be disclosed when selling it, whether it can be worn every day, how it is treated and identified, and which source each conclusion comes from.
Price, rarity and origin are outside the scope of this wiki.
What this page can answer
This page covers
- How Golden Amber forms and what gives its colourFormation setting, process and timescale; where its colour and optical effects come from, each finding graded and sourced
- How to identify Golden AmberHow far lab testing can go
- Treatments and enhancements of Golden AmberThe enhancements and treatments the GB/T and JJA/AGL tables list
- Caring for and wearing Golden AmberCleaning, heat, chemicals and light, as the cited sources give them
- Hardness, density and refractive index of Golden AmberEach value with its source and check date
- Golden Amber in English, Chinese and Japanese; national standard namesNames in four languages, the GB/T standard name and the suggested listing name; and: Has any of GIA, FTC, CIBJO or Gem-A put a name for it on record here?
- Listing and disclosing Golden AmberThe listing name to use; what must be disclosed before sale
- Standard clauses that define Golden AmberWhich clause defines it, each cross-checked
What we cannot conclude
- Whether one particular bead is natural, treated or synthetic — only a laboratory report can settle that.
- Geographic origin, unless an origin report accompanies the item.
- Price, rarity or investment value: this wiki covers naming and disclosure only.
Material research: formation, causes and history
What authoritative sources say about how this material forms, what causes its colour and optical effects, where its name comes from and how people have used it. Each statement carries an evidence grade and its sources; it describes the material in general, not any specific piece.
How it forms
"Golden amber" names a commercial colour category, grouping amber by its golden hue; it is neither a mineral species nor a material type in its own right. Amber is a biogenic organic gem: resin released by ancient trees hardens and fossilizes to create it, and once the parent resin lies buried in sediment it goes through "maturation" — drying out, losing volatile and labile components, and perhaps polymerizing or cross-linking into a macromolecule — which turns it into amber. The sources state that amber must be older than a million years and that its creation took place tens of millions of years in the past.
Scope: Applies to the formation and maturation of the amber (fossil resin) referred to as "golden amber", and defines it as a trade name based on colour; no mineral-species assertion is made for this Chinese trade name.
Sources GIA Amber Description · Journal article (resin maturation)
Where it forms
Resin exuded by ancient trees is buried in sediment, where it undergoes maturation.
Sources GIA Amber Description · Journal article (resin maturation)
Some amber is found in the ground; some has been freed and carried by tides to beaches or near-shore areas.
Sources GIA Amber Description · Journal article (resin maturation)
How it forms, step by step
Resin, or sap, is exuded by ancient trees.
Sources GIA Amber Description · Journal article (resin maturation)
Sediment buries the resin.
Sources GIA Amber Description · Journal article (resin maturation)
Under burial it matures: drying, loss of volatiles/labile components, and possible polymerization/cross-linking into a macromolecule.
Sources GIA Amber Description · Journal article (resin maturation)
The resin hardens into amber; the golden-toned one is what the trade calls "golden amber".
Sources GIA Amber Description · Journal article (resin maturation)
Link to appearance
Amber's most familiar colours are yellow to orange; the golden hue is what "golden amber" denotes. NOTE: colour alone cannot establish origin, age or authenticity.
Sources GIA Amber Description
Timescale
The minimum age for amber is one million years, and the source reports that it came into being tens of millions of years in the past; copal is younger, commonly about a hundred thousand years old.
Sources GIA Amber Description
Related base materials
- Amber (fossil resin): Golden amber is a commercial colour name for amber classified by its golden-yellow tone, not a separate material type
Supporting findings
Amber is a biogenic organic gem, formed when resin secreted by ancient trees hardened and fossilized.
Evidence grade AScope: Applies to amber overall; not the colour name specifically.
Sources GIA Amber Description · G&G Winter 2023
The parent resin, buried in sediment, undergoes maturation: drying, loss of volatiles/labile components, and possible polymerization/cross-linking into a macromolecule.
Evidence grade AScope: A maturation mechanism from experimental simulation; describes fossilization.
Sources Journal article (resin maturation)
Amber has to be older than one million years, the source saying it came into being tens of millions of years in the past; copal, by contrast, is younger, commonly about a hundred thousand years.
Evidence grade BScope: Gives the amber/copal age boundary; not a specific sample.
Sources GIA Amber Description
Causes of colour and optical effects
Amber's most familiar colours are yellow to orange, with reddish colour rare; the golden hue is the trade's "golden amber".
Evidence grade BScope: Describes common colours; the source gives no specific colour-cause mechanism for golden amber.
Sources GIA Amber Description
Other research findings
"Golden amber" is a commercial (colour) name for amber divided by golden hue, not an independent mineral species or material type; the cited authoritative sources give no definition of this Chinese trade name.
Evidence grade CScope: Defines it as a commercial colour name; no authoritative mineralogical definition.
Sources GIA Amber Description
Limits of this research
- Research status: Formation, occurrence or other material-specific findings found in authoritative sources
- "Golden amber" is a commercial colour name for amber; none of the authoritative sources consulted gives it a mineralogical definition.
- The sources give no specific colour-cause mechanism for the golden hue.
Methodology
- Origin determination and its limits
- Quality grading and value factors
- How gemmology became a technical discipline
Evidence grades
- A
- Standards bodies, government geological surveys, peer-reviewed research and museum records
- B
- Institutional educational material
- C
- Specialist databases or cautious readings
A statement is never graded above its strongest source.
This section is LumaLark's own factual restatement of public authoritative sources, credited item by item; it contains no verbatim excerpts, images or third-party logos.
DecideListing name, disclosure, care and treatments
- Suggested listing name
- Golden Amber
GB/T 16552—2017 Table A.3 “Amber” · CIBJO Gemmological Laboratories Book 2024 §7.2.2.1 “Amber”
Construction or treatment status
Natural identity; treatment status unknown
Treatments recorded for this material: Heated / Heat-treated (via parent material), Filled / Fracture-filled (via parent material), Coated (via parent material), Irradiated (via parent material), Dyed (via parent material)
Related:Disclosure and cautions
This page cannot answer
Natural? · Origin · Price
A lab report settles these; this wiki covers naming and disclosure.
Related:What this page can answer
Answer at a glance
"Golden Amber" is a market name rather than a mineral species name; before using it, verify: Trade name rather than a mineralogical species name.
Evidence
- GB/T · Table A.3, row 琥珀 (Amber)
What this means for you
Before buying, check the recommended listing name "Golden Amber" and any disclosed treatments on this page, and ask the seller for a grading report if in doubt.
Known uncertainty
- This entry's exact material identity is not fully settled.
- See “Disclosure and cautions” above
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-01
Trade-name ruling
- Trade name rather than a mineralogical species name.
- Suggested listing name
- Golden Amber
Care and wear
The item-by-item care advice that the GIA Care and Cleaning Guide gives for the whole class, and so for Golden Amber, is set out in full under care on the Amber entry.
Care
Each row's “Source & check” expands to the full source; the date beside it is the fact check date.
Treatments and identification leads
One row per treatment, with three standards side by side: how often it occurs and how stable it is (CIBJO), its category in GB/T 16552—2017 Table B.1 (this site's paraphrase) and how the JJA/AGL 2025 table lists it. Each CIBJO value links to its entry under “Testing and market”, where the wording and source are given in full.
This table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
| Treatment | Market frequency (CIBJO) | Stability (CIBJO) | GB/T 16552 category | JJA/AGL listing | Identification leads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heating | — | — | Optimization | — | — |
| Filling | — | — | Graded — see §5.4.1, Table 1 | — | — |
| Coating | — | — | Graded — see §5.4.1, Table 1 | — | — |
| Irradiation | — | — | Treatment | — | — |
| Colour change by heating under pressure | — | — | Treatment | — | — |
| Dyeing | — | — | Treatment | — | — |
“—” means the cited source gives no value for that item, not “none”. Source: GB/T 16552—2017 Table B.1 (row for Amber)
Whether a treatment has to show in the name differs between the two rule sets (this site’s paraphrase):
- GB/T 16552—2017: a method classed as treatment has to be stated in the name itself — the method put before the name, or added in brackets after it; a method classed as optimization does not need to appear in the name, though one marked “Optimization (annotation required)” still has to be noted in the quality documents. Source: §5.4.2.1 a), b); §5.4.2.2 a)
- CIBJO Gemstone Book 2022: no longer splits treatments into ones that need specific disclosure and ones that need only general disclosure: every treatment is to be disclosed, and the seller tells the buyer which treatment was used and what special care it calls for. Source: §4.2.5 Note 2, §4.2.5.1, pp.14–15
What this table covers
What this page can give
- Registered treatments, their stability and how often they occur (see the table above)
- Identification leads for each treatment, for use when sending a stone for testing
VerifyNames, standards, technical facts, clauses and sources
Names
Standard and listing namesThe Chinese formal name for Golden Amber is given in GB/T 16552—2017 Table A.3; Golden Amber is a trade name, not a mineralogical species name, and the suggested listing name is Golden Amber. Trade and mineralogical namesThe mineralogical name is recorded as a trade category of golden-coloured amber. Names in four languagesAcross languages, the Simplified and Traditional Chinese names are the same, the English name is Golden Amber, and there is a Japanese name meaning golden amber; the entry's own Japanese name is shown, and the wording of GSJ (Japan) for it is not yet verified. Institution usageOn authority wording, the FTC and CIBJO texts on file have no wording for Golden Amber (checked), and GIA and Gem-A are unchecked; bodies without a recorded wording show the entry's own English name, which does not represent their position.
- GSJ (Japan) formal name
- 金色琥珀 (not yet checked for this body — the entry's own Japanese name is shown)
- Chinese formal name
- 金珀 (GB/T 16552—2017 Table A.3)
- Mineralogical name
- Golden-coloured amber trade category
Four-language names
- 简体中文
- 金珀
- 繁體中文
- 金珀
- English
- Golden Amber
- 日本語
- 金色琥珀
See also: Misleading and prohibited trade names · Supplementary name index
Classification
- Origin
- Natural materials
- Material domain
- Natural organic and biogenic materials
- Browsing family
- Amber and natural resin materials
- Identity tier
- Organic or biogenic material
- Mineral chemical class
- Not applicable
- Construction or treatment status
- Natural identity; treatment status unknown
Treatments listed by standards
Treatment classes for Golden Amber are applied from the “Amber” row of GB/T 16552—2017 Annex B, Table B.1: heating is listed as optimization; filling and coating are both defined by the standard's grades; irradiation, heat-and-pressure colour change and dyeing are listed as treatment. What Table B.1 notes and how each grade is defined are explained on this site's Gem treatments page, and the full row including the effect column is on the Amber entry.
GB/T 16552-2017, Annex B, Table B.1
Under the “Amber” row of Table B.1: Heating Optimization; Filling Graded — see §5.4.1, Table 1; Coating Graded — see §5.4.1, Table 1; Irradiation Treatment; Colour change by heating under pressure Treatment; Dyeing Treatment. The full row, with the effect column, is on the Amber page.
What Table B.1 is, and how the “see 5.4.1” grades are defined: see the GB/T 16552: optimization vs treatment page.
What it is and how it's identified
Golden Amber is defined as transparent amber in yellow to golden yellow; its other material facts are recorded for amber (the whole class), not measured for Golden Amber on its own. For amber (the whole class): structure amorphous, Mohs hardness 2–2.5, cleavage none, density 0.96–1.1 g/cm³, derived from the cited clause value 1.08 with tolerance +0.02/−0.12, and it becomes electrically charged when rubbed. For amber (the whole class): optic character isotropic, with strain often causing anomalous extinction and interference colours, birefringence none; refractive index 1.54 is the reading commonly obtained by the spot method, a typical value rather than an absolute limit, and the recorded value is the overall one among the clause's finer ranges. Untreated amber melts and gives off an aromatic smell when touched with a hot needle, has no pleochroism, and shows resinous lustre (as a quality factor). Whole-class features such as chemical composition, UV fluorescence, spectra and magnification are on the Amber entry.
Registered material facts
Each row carries its own source and check date and can be cited on its own; “—” means the cited source gives no value, not “none”.
Chemical composition, long-wave UV luminescence, short-wave UV luminescence, UV-visible spectrum, infrared spectrum, magnification: these whole-class features are given in the cited clause for amber (whole class), so they are not repeated on the Golden Amber page; see the material facts on the Amber entry.
Items below that name the class they cover give the cited clause’s value for that whole class, not a measurement of Golden Amber (how to read class-level values).
Definition
Golden Amber: transparent amber, yellow to golden in colour.
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
Source & check 2026-09-21
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.3.5 Additional notes (locator checked 2026-09-28)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-21
Structure
Golden Amber — structure (overall): amorphous (not crystalline)
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- amber (whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.3.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Durability
Golden Amber — Mohs hardness: 2–2.5
GB/T 16553—2017
Reference points on this site: Talc 1–3, Fluorite 4, Apatite 5–5.5, Orthoclase 6–6.5, Topaz 8, Diamond 10 (Source: GB/T 16553—2017); Gypsum 1.5–2, Calcite 3, Quartz 7 (Source: Handbook of Mineralogy); Corundum 9 (Source: GIA Gem Encyclopedia (care guide))
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- amber (whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.3.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Golden Amber — cleavage: none
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- amber (whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.3.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Golden Amber — stability: may melt on contact with a hot needle, giving off an aromatic smell.
GB/T 16553—2017
- Treatment state
- untreated
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- amber (whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.3.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Physical properties
Golden Amber — density: 0.96–1.1 g/cm³
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- amber (whole class)
- Qualification
The clause we cite gives 1.08, with a stated tolerance of +0.02 / -0.12. The range shown here is worked out from that.
Source & check 2026-09-21
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.3.5 (locator checked 2026-09-21)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-21
Golden Amber — triboelectricity: may become electrically charged when rubbed
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- amber (whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.3.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Optical
Golden Amber — optic character: isotropic, but stress often gives anomalous extinction along with interference colours.
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- amber (whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.3.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Golden Amber — refractive index: 1.54
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- amber (whole class)
- Qualification
The clause we cite gives this as a value commonly read by the spot (distant-vision) method. It is a common value, not an absolute limit.
- General note
- the clause has finer ranges
Source & check 2026-09-21
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.3.5 (locator checked 2026-09-21)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-21
Golden Amber — birefringence: none
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- amber (whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-21
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.3.5 (locator checked 2026-09-21)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-21
Golden Amber — pleochroism: none
GB/T 16553—2017
- Treatment state
- untreated
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- amber (whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.3.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Quality factors
Golden Amber — quality factor (lustre): resinous
GB/T 16553—2017
- Treatment state
- untreated
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- amber (whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.3.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Each row's “Source & check” expands to the full source; the date beside it is the fact check date.
This material (RI / SG midpoints): 1.54 / 1.03; Closest values: 1Turtle Shell 1.545 / 1.31, 2Plastic 1.58 / 1.3, 3Jet 1.66 / 1.32, 4Black Coral 1.565 / 1.71, 5Mammoth Ivory 1.53 / 1.75
Show the full chart (330 registered materials)
Outside the full chart's range, drawn as triangles at the edge (RI / SG midpoints): Hematite 3.045/5.12, Synthetic Rutile 2.76/4.26, Rutile 2.753/4.23, Synthetic Moissanite 2.67/3.22
Testing and market
The CIBJO laboratory protocol covers Golden Amber under “Amber” (§6.2.1): see identification on the Amber entry; the required tests are listed on the CIBJO laboratory protocol table for Amber.
How far testing can go
Each row's “Source & check” expands to the full source; the date beside it is the fact check date.
Clause-level definitions
Golden Amber has a clause-level registration in GB/T 16552—2017 Annex A, under the entry name Golden Amber, with the summary definition a trade category of golden-yellow amber. Cross-check result: listed directly in GB/T; not found under a standalone heading of the same name in CIBJO. The clause-level definition of golden amber rests on GB/T 16552—2017 Annex A, and on the CIBJO side no definition was found under a standalone heading of the same name.
This table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
| Term | Clause | Definition | Cross-check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Amber | GB/T 16552-2017 Annex A | Golden-coloured amber trade category | Listed directly by GB/T; CIBJO carries no standalone entry under the same name. |
Evidence and sources
Authority basis and clause sources
Sources
Further reading
Related entries and topic cluster
Parent entry and related pages on this site. Rows marked “Planned” are suggested new content and have no link yet.
Related-entry tree for Amber on this site: 10 entries listed by this site's parent-entry links; synthetic, treated and similar entries carry their recorded state after the name; this page (Golden Amber) is marked.
This table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
| Page | Content | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Browsing family | Amber and natural resin materials | Live |
| Treatments recorded for this material | Heated / Heat-treated (via parent material), Filled / Fracture-filled (via parent material), Coated (via parent material), Irradiated (via parent material), Dyed (via parent material) | Live |
| Related articles | To be added (placeholder) | Planned |
Who maintains this page
The material facts in the Golden Amber entry are maintained by the LumaLark wiki and matched one by one to the standard clauses or institutional sources they cite: every fact carries its source (with a clause or page locator) and a check date, so it can be traced back to the original; clause-level definitions also carry a cross-check result. The entry exists so that buyers and sellers can check naming, disclosure and material facts item by item.