This is a popular description of amber which focuses primarily on the contemporary market. The article begins with an anecdote about buying amber from a street vendor in Naples. The fact that amber is a fossilized resin has been known since the time of Pliny (b. 23 A.D.). It often contains fossilized insects which enhances its value to collectors but which may detract from its attractiveness for jewelry customers. The primary mines are in northern Europe, but amber containing strata also occur in southern Italy, where the author made her first purchase. Naples is known as a center for amber distribution. Information gleaned from jewelers in California, where the author lives, indicates that the popularity of amber peaked in the 1920s and 1930s, but declined thereafter. Because it is so soft, lapidary work involving amber should be done by hand.