On this page
UnderstandWhat it is, what people ask, how far this page goes
Natural organic and biogenic materials · Organic or biogenic material · Natural identity; treatment status unknown
Red Amber
Also known asBlood amber
A trade colour name for red to dark red Amber; the red may be natural or related to treatment, and origin cannot be inferred from appearance. 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 Red Amber forms and what gives its colourFormation setting, process and timescale, each finding graded and sourced
- How to identify Red AmberHow far lab testing can go
- Treatments and enhancements of Red AmberThe enhancements and treatments the GB/T and JJA/AGL tables list
- Caring for and wearing Red AmberCleaning, heat, chemicals and light, as the cited sources give them
- Hardness, density and refractive index of Red AmberEach value with its source and check date
- Red 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 Red AmberThe listing name to use; what must be disclosed before sale
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
Xue po is a Chinese-market trade colour name for red to dark-red amber. Its material body is amber, and its formation is inherited from amber: ancient tree resin hardened through burial, polymerisation and fossilisation. Amber comes in many colours, most familiar as yellow to orange, while red is rarer, e.g. reddish amber from Myanmar; such red may be natural or may relate to procedures such as heating or oxidation. The cited sources cover only amber's formation and colour range and include no treatment source, so the name 'xue po' cannot establish a specimen's colour cause, naturalness or origin.
Scope: Applies to explaining the inherited origin and identity boundary of this trade colour name for red to dark red amber; not applicable to determining the colour origin, treatment or locality of a specific sample.
Sources GIA Amber Description
Where it forms
Resin-producing trees in ancient forests; the resin is buried in sediments and fossilises over geological time.
Sources GIA Amber Description
How it forms, step by step
Ancient trees secrete resin.
Sources GIA Amber Description
The resin is buried, polymerises and fossilises into amber.
Sources GIA Amber Description
Some amber shows the rarer red colour (e.g. reddish amber from Myanmar), forming the colour basis for what the trade calls xue po.
Sources GIA Amber Description
The red may be natural or treatment-related; the name alone does not distinguish them.
Sources GIA Amber Description
Link to appearance
Red to dark red is one of amber's colours; the source records red as rarer and mentions reddish amber from Myanmar; the name does not prove the colour natural or treated.
Sources GIA Amber Description
Timescale
Inherited from amber: the source places amber's formation tens of millions of years in the past and requires it to be more than a million years old.
Sources GIA Amber Description
Related base materials
- Amber: Parent material (xuepo is a trade colour name for red to dark red amber)
Supporting findings
Amber is a resin-derived organic gem formed when ancient tree sap hardened and fossilised; xue po inherits this parent-material formation.
Evidence grade AScope: Formation of the parent material amber; does not present generic amber facts as unique to xue po.
Sources GIA Amber Description · G&G Winter 2023
The source states amber must be over one million years old, with younger resin of the same kind called copal.
Evidence grade BScope: Applies to the amber/copal age boundary; gives no specimen-specific age.
Sources GIA Amber Description
Other research findings
Amber occurs in a range of colours; yellow through orange are the best known, and a red hue is uncommon. The source groups together cloudy amber, the reddish amber of Myanmar, amber containing stress fractures, and a pale, nearly opaque kind.
Evidence grade BScope: Describes amber's colour range and the relative rarity of red; gives no colour-cause mechanism.
Sources GIA Amber Description
Xue po is a Chinese-market trade colour name for red to dark-red amber whose parent material is amber; it is not an independent material and the name alone cannot prove colour cause, treatment or origin.
Evidence grade CScope: Naming/identity judgement; the cited sources give no authoritative definition of 'xue po', and the red may be natural or treatment-related, with no cited source on treatment.
Sources GIA Amber Description
Limits of this research
- Research status: Formation, occurrence or other material-specific findings found in authoritative sources
- None of the cited sources defines 'xue po', and no amber heat/oxidation-treatment source is cited, so the cause of the red colour cannot be judged from them.
- Specimen naturalness and origin are not covered; the name cannot evidence colour cause or origin.
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
- Red Amber (Chinese trade name: xuepo; also sold as blood amber)
GB/T 16552—2017 Table A.3 “Amber”
Construction or treatment status
Natural identity; treatment status unknown
Treatments recorded for this material: Heated / Heat-treated, Filled / Fracture-filled (via parent material), Coated (via parent material), Irradiated (via parent material), Dyed
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
"Red Amber (Chinese trade name: xuepo)" is a market name rather than a mineral species name; before using it, verify: Trade name rather than a mineralogical species name. Laboratory identification required before the name is used.
What this means for you
Before buying, check the recommended listing name "Red Amber (Chinese trade name: xuepo; also sold as blood 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.
- Laboratory identification required before the name is used.
- Suggested listing name
- Red Amber (Chinese trade name: xuepo; also sold as blood amber)
Care and wear
Normal care for every gemstone (CIBJO Gemstone Book §6.1), in brief:
- Handle it gently.
- Store pieces apart when not worn, so they cannot scratch each other.
- Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush.
- Use ultrasonic cleaners only with caution.
The §6.1 wording and the full list of §6.2 special-care letters cited on this page are on the general gem care page.
The item-by-item care advice that the GIA Care and Cleaning Guide gives for the whole class, and so for Red 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 | — | — |
| colouring and heating | — | — | — | colouring and heating | — |
“—” means the cited source gives no value for that item, not “none”. Source: GB/T 16552—2017 Table B.1 (row for Amber); JJA/AGL 2025
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
Besides Red Amber, the name register records "Blood amber" and "red amber", for which no restriction on use as a name is recorded.
Standard and listing namesThe GB/T 16552—2017 Chinese formal name for Red Amber is listed under amber in Table A.3, as a subdivision name of amber; the suggested listing name is red amber (Chinese trade name: xuepo). Trade and mineralogical namesBlood amber and red amber are registered market names, with no restriction recorded on their use as names. The mineralogical name is registered as a colour trade category of red to dark red amber, whose colour may be natural or may relate to treatment. Names in four languagesNames are given in four languages: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English (Red Amber) and Japanese (red amber in katakana, with the Chinese market name); the qualifier Chinese trade name xuepo attached to the English name comes, for GIA, Gem-A, FTC and CIBJO alike, from the entry's own English name. Institution usageOn authority wording, of GIA, FTC, CIBJO and Gem-A, the FTC and CIBJO texts on file have no wording for Red Amber (checked), and GIA and Gem-A wording is not yet verified; bodies that have not recorded Red Amber show the entry's own English name, which does not represent their position. Japanese namesFor Japan's GSJ formal name, the entry's own Japanese name is shown, and Japan's GSJ wording is not yet verified by this site.
Name register
Every name recorded for this entry, with how it is classified, whether it may be matched to this entry automatically, whether it may be used as a product name, and the clause it rests on.
This table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
| Name | Type | Matching | Use as a name | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| no restriction recorded (2) | ||||
| Blood amberEnglish | market name | matched automatically | no restriction recorded | editorial ruling (no clause cited) |
| red amberEnglish | market name | matched automatically | no restriction recorded | editorial ruling (no clause cited) |
How each authority words this name: see Names › Authority wording.
- GSJ (Japan) formal name
- レッドアンバー／「血珀」（中国市場名） (not yet checked for this body — the entry's own Japanese name is shown)
- Chinese formal name
- 血珀 (GB/T 16552—2017 Table A.3)
- Mineralogical name
- Red to dark-red amber trade colour category; colour may be natural or treatment-related
- Trade names and synonyms
- Blood amber (market name)
Four-language names
- 简体中文
- 血珀
- 繁體中文
- 血珀
- English
- Red Amber (Chinese trade name: xuepo)
- 日本語
- レッドアンバー／「血珀」（中国市場名）
Qualifiers stripped from the headline name
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
GB/T Table B.1The treatment categories for Red Amber in GB/T 16552—2017 Annex B, Table B.1 are applied by this site from the table's “Amber” row: heating is in the optimization category; filling and coating are defined by grade, with the notes to Table B.1 and the definition of each grade on this site's Gem treatments page; irradiation, colour change by heat and pressure, and dyeing are in the treatment category. JJA/AGL designationsIn the list of main gemstone designations of the 2025 revision of the Japanese JJA/AGL Definitions and Nomenclature of Gemstones and Ornamental Materials, Amber has the species amber and colour red, with colouring plus heating listed (dyeing, heat treatment); JJA/AGL records colouring plus heating under the name Amber, and the original does not name Red Amber, which is a related 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.
JJA/AGL (Japan) table of principal gem names, 2025
This table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
| Gem name | Species | Colour | Listed in the table | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amber | Amber | red | colouring and heating (Dyed, Heated / Heat-treated) | listed under “Amber” in the table; this page is related (the source does not name it) |
JJA/AGL definitions and nomenclature (2025 revision), table of principal gem names, p.11
How to read the JJA/AGL table: see the Gem treatments page.
What it is and how it's identified
Red Amber is transparent amber in brownish red to red. The structure of Red Amber, for amber (the whole class), is amorphous; cleavage, for amber (the whole class), is none. Mohs hardness is 2–2.5; the cited clause covers the whole species, and Red Amber is a variety of amber. Density, for amber (the whole class), is 0.96–1.1 g/cm³, derived from the cited clause value 1.08 and its permitted tolerance of +0.02/−0.12. Optical character, for amber (the whole class), is isotropic, with strain often causing anomalous extinction and interference colours in amber; refractive index, for amber (the whole class), is 1.54, the value given by the cited clause being a reading commonly obtained with the spot method, a common value rather than an absolute limit, with finer sub-ranges and the overall value registered; birefringence, for amber (the whole class), is none. Pleochroism when untreated, for amber (the whole class), is none; lustre when untreated, for amber (the whole class), is resinous.
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 Red 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 Red Amber (how to read class-level values).
Definition
Red Amber: transparent amber in brownish red to red
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
Red 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
Red Amber — Mohs hardness: 2–2.5
GIA Gem Encyclopedia
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))
- Qualification
The clause we cite covers the whole species. This entry is only one variety of it.
Source & check 2026-09-20
- Source
- GIA Gem Encyclopedia — Amber (Gemological Institute of America): Section “FACTS”, “Mohs Hardness” (locator checked 2026-09-28)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-20
Red 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
stability2 sources compared
Red 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
Red Amber — stability: low hardness, so it scratches easily; chips and cracks easily; dissolves on contact with solvents such as nail varnish remover, so keep it away from all solvents and other strong chemicals; no ultrasonic cleaning; pieces with superficial colour or surface layers are not suitable for re-cutting or re-polishing.
CIBJO Gemstone Book 2022
CIBJO Gemstone Book §6.2:special-care code a, special-care code b, special-care code i, special-care code j, special-care code m
- Treatment state
- untreated
- Qualification
The row we cite covers amber as a whole, and this entry is one of its varieties. The row states a property that holds for every piece alike — whether it dissolves, whether it cracks. That kind of property carries over to this entry. A numeric range such as hardness would not.
Source & check 2026-09-25
- Source
- CIBJO Blue Book — Official Gemstone Book (Coloured Stone Commission 2022) (CIBJO): §8 Annex C, Amber, p.32; §6.2 a, b, i, j, m (locator checked 2026-09-21)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-25
Physical properties
Red 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
Red 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
Red 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
Red 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
Red 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
Red 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
Red 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 Red 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.
Evidence and sources
Authority basis and clause sources
Sources
- CIBJO – The World Jewellery Confederation. Gemmological Laboratories Book (Blue Book), Gemmological Commission 2024-1.
- CIBJO – The World Jewellery Confederation. The Gemstone Book (Blue Book), 2022.
- SAMR / SAC (China). GB/T 16552—2017 Gems — Nomenclature.
- GIA – Gemological Institute of America (United States). Gem Encyclopedia: Amber Description.
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 (Red 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, Filled / Fracture-filled (via parent material), Coated (via parent material), Irradiated (via parent material), Dyed | Live |
| Related articles | To be added (placeholder) | Planned |
Who maintains this page
The material facts in the Red 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. The entry exists so that buyers and sellers can check naming, disclosure and material facts item by item.