ForMatter/Materials/gemstone/Baltic Amber
mat_gem_amber_baltic

Baltic Amber

fossil tree resin (succinite), organic gem · amber, succinite, Polish amber
highlast updated 2026-04-27
metallic 0.00
hue shift +0°

Fossilized tree resin — solidified, polymerized, and then buried for tens of millions of years. Baltic amber comes mostly from a Tertiary forest of *Pinus succinifera* that grew where the Baltic Sea now sits, around 40–60 million years ago. The amber that washes up on the Baltic coast preserves insects, plant fragments, and air bubbles in a transparent yellow-orange to red-brown matrix. The most softness in this catalog — Mohs 2.5 — and the only entry that's strictly speaking organic.

Polymerized terpenoid resin (succinite), Mohs 2.0–2.5, specific gravity 1.05–1.10 (floats in saturated saltwater — the diagnostic test). Refractive index ~1.54. Soluble in chloroform, swells in alcohol. Heat-treated routinely to clarify and intensify color; pressed amber (reconstituted) is also common in trade and disclosed. Becomes electrostatic when rubbed (the Greek root *elektron* means "amber").

mechanical

  • mohs_hardness2.25
  • specific_gravity1.08
source: GIA Amber Quality Factors; Hurlbut

optical

  • refractive_index1.54
source: GIA

Sustainability

  • embodied carbon kg co2e per kg0.5
  • sourceEditorial estimate from ICE / Granta CES EduPack class databases — industry mean, with cradle-to-gate boundary unless otherwise noted. Embodied carbon for any specific product depends on supplier mix, recycled content, and energy grid; verify against a primary source before using these numbers in a sustainability claim.
  • recyclabilityhigh — secondhand market mature in Eastern Europe
  • biodegradableFalse
  • localityprimary collection: Baltic coast (Russia / Kaliningrad, Poland, Lithuania); secondary: Dominican Republic, Mexico
visual
transparent yellow / orange / red-brown, often with included air bubbles or fossilized organisms
tactile
warm to the touch — extremely low thermal conductivity
weight perception
very light

PBR starter values

Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere transparent finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material.

# finish:      transparent
albedo        #d88820
metallic      0.00
roughness     0.05
ior           1.50
transmission  1.00
clearcoat     0.00
sheen         0.00
anisotropic   0.00
copy as JSON 
{
  "albedo": "#d88820",
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.05,
  "ior": 1.5,
  "transmission": 1.0,
  "clearcoat": 0.0,
  "sheen": 0.0,
  "anisotropic": 0.0
}
Blender 4.x Python 
# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# Baltic Amber · finish: transparent
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_gem_amber_baltic")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value         = (0.6867, 0.2462, 0.0144, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value           = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value          = 0.050
bsdf.inputs["IOR"].default_value                = 1.500
bsdf.inputs["Transmission Weight"].default_value = 1.000
bsdf.inputs["Coat Weight"].default_value        = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Sheen Weight"].default_value       = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value        = 0.000
KeyShot Python (lux) 
# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# Baltic Amber · finish: transparent
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_gem_amber_baltic", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse",      (216, 136, 32))   # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic",     0.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness",    0.050)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.500)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 1.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)
Substance pbrMetalRough 
{
  "_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
  "_about": "Baltic Amber \u00b7 finish: transparent",
  "baseColor": {
    "r": 0.6867,
    "g": 0.2462,
    "b": 0.0144
  },
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.05,
  "ior": 1.5,
  "opacity": 0.0,
  "anisotropyLevel": 0.0,
  "_notes": "Channels listed are the standard Substance pbrMetalRough output. Drop into a Uniform Color node per channel, or as the constant input on a layered stack."
}
glTF 2.0 Metallic-Roughness 
{
  "asset": {
    "version": "2.0",
    "generator": "ForMatter"
  },
  "materials": [
    {
      "name": "mat_gem_amber_baltic",
      "pbrMetallicRoughness": {
        "baseColorFactor": [
          0.6867,
          0.2462,
          0.0144,
          1.0
        ],
        "metallicFactor": 0.0,
        "roughnessFactor": 0.05
      },
      "extensions": {
        "KHR_materials_transmission": {
          "transmissionFactor": 1.0
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
USD Preview Surface 
# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# Baltic Amber · finish: transparent
def Material "mat_gem_amber_baltic" {
    token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_gem_amber_baltic/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>

    def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
        uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
        color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.6867, 0.2462, 0.0144)
        float   inputs:metallic     = 0.000
        float   inputs:roughness    = 0.050
        float   inputs:ior          = 1.500
        float   inputs:opacity      = 0.000
        float   inputs:clearcoat    = 0.000
        token   outputs:surface
    }
}
↓ download glTF material

Citations