Criteria for amber quality assessment basi

Abstract

Purpose. Presentation of a new method for assessing the quality of raw amber based on the principle of comparing the properties of raw materials with the consumer properties of products. Method. The work uses general scientific and special research methods - theoretical (analysis, generalization, comparison), gemological and economic. This work is based on the practical results of previously performed research and expert assessments. The results. It is shown that amber is one of the most common stones in the arts and crafts and in the jewelry industry. The modern market has formed a consumer demand for amber products from beads and artistic carvings to collectible samples and interior appliances. Each type of product has its own variations of properties and, above all, it is shape, size, color, transparency, aesthetic effects, uniqueness, rarity, quality of processing, etc. However, the decorative properties of the raw material are hidden under the oxidized jacket (crust, film) and surface cracks. And in order to gain access to study the natural characteristics and determine the scope, taking into account the type of products, it is necessary to eliminate the oxidized jacket mechanically, which, of course, requires additional economic costs and technological capabilities. Thus, individual consumer properties have been formed for each type of product, which on the set of aesthetic qualities and provide a certain value of the product. In order to assess the quality of amber, the authors of the article proposed a method that is developed on the basis of a natural relationship between the consumer properties of products and decorative properties of amber. Scientific novelty. The main quality criteria of raw amber are revealed. Various variations of certain of its properties, characteristic of each specific product, became the basis for the development of this method of assessing the quality of amber on the basis of a natural relationship between the consumer properties of products and decorative properties of raw materials. Practical significance. Using the presented method of assessing the quality of amber will allow specialists to select the necessary raw materials for each type of product and, thus, develop quality criteria, which in the future will determine the scope and specific type of product (complexity, targeting).