Amber and Arthritis

Amber and Diamond Engagement Ring

I had an interesting discovery recently about amber.

I had posted something on Facebook about the Baltic Amber teething necklaces that we make here for babies and young children. Amber is comprised of  fossilized tree resin and contains the substance succinic acid which works as a natural pain reliever and anti-inflammatory agent. baby’s body warmth encourages trace amounts of the succinic acid to be released onto the skin, which is then absorbed by the body where it works to relieve teething pain..

A lovely customer of ours, Claire, replied to this post with a question – did we know if this kind of Baltic amber might be helpful for her as she has arthritis. I explained that I wasn’t sure, but that maybe it was worth a try and so I sent her some pictures of a beautiful Baltic amber bracelet that I had recently made which I felt would be worth a try because it was elasticated, so the amber would be close to the skin.

The amazing news was that it worked for Claire. She said that as soon as she started wearing it, her arthritis was a lot better and that it had really helped. She quickly ordered a Baltic amber pendant that we also had in stock which is also made of, specifically, Baltic amber and also touches the skin.

I guess it may well not help everybody, but it has certainly helped Claire. She encouraged me to write this blog about this interesting subject because she wanted to share her experience, “I thought I would let you see how much Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery has made my life so much better all because you put a blog out on teething!”.

Claire also did some further research into this interesting subject and said “The benefits of Baltic Amber have been around for generations but little has been said in the global market place. There are lovely examples of Victorian pieces to be had at hefty prices, there are some ideas which are developing to not only allow the discerning wearer the opportunity to be en vogue but to have the ability to enjoy the warmth and colour of this beautiful material but to benefit from its qualities as a natural anti-inflammatory healer. The amazing colour spectrum which runs from dappled sunlight to golden honey and deeper into nearly dark treacle is an amazing composition of stunning autumnal colours to go with so many of the lovely cable knits about this time of year. There are also the typical amber one tone pieces with stylish yet understated necklaces and earrings entwined with silver to give that all round appeal.”

We have used amber in engagement rings quite regularly. We always discuss this choice with the customer because amber is actually quite soft (not much harder than your fingernail) so can scratch over time. However, it is also true that it is fairly easy to polish back to a shine if scratching does occur.

Being bespoke jewellers, it would be easy for us to make a bespoke piece in Baltic amber too, made so that the amber touches the skin.