What is Indonesian Amber? Origin, Age and Characteristics

Ryan Zschomler
Dec 18, 2025
4 min read

Updated: 11 hours ago

What is Indonesian Amber?

Indonesian amber is famous for its large, gemmy blues. It is possible to get pieces that weigh over 50 pounds from here, if one so desired.

Blue and Green Indonesian amber — **Blue Indonesian Amber** - Gemmy blue and green amber pieces. Medium rarity.

Indonesian amber comes from from the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. It is approximately 20 million years old, dating back to the mid-late Miocene era. It came from the now extinct Hymanea Protera tree. Indonesian amber can have striking blue colors, but it is soft and prone to scratching. It tends to have a dark and murky quality to it, and not be as crisp as other amber deposits. It is considered to be the lowest quality amber of all the large deposits on Earth.

a map of the Indonesian amber mining zone — **The Indonesian Amber Zone**

Indonesian Amber Mines

Indonesian amber mines are actually coal mines, where the company removes coal and the locals are allowed to collect the amber leftover for free. There is a lot of amber leftover. Indonesia produces vast quantities of amber, and extremely large pieces. The largest pieces in the world come from here.

Insects in Indonesian Amber

In terms of insect inclusions, Indonesian amber does not have them. If you do find one, the insect is usually of very low quality. If obtaining an amber piece with an insect inclusion is a priority, it is not advisable to search for them in Indonesian amber. However, despite the rarity of insect inclusions, Indonesian amber has an abundance of lichen inclusions.

Lichens in Indonesian Amber

While insect fossils are rare in Indonesian amber, lichen fossils are plentiful! Lichens are plants that hung on trees, and are closely related to moss. These plants must have been very abundant in these ancient forests! The oddity of Indonesian amber is that it contains so many lichen fossils, and so few insect fossils.

Lichens in Indonesian Amber Notice how the green skin is visible, along with the insides of the lichen — **Lichens Perfectly Preserved -** Notice how the green skin is visible, along with the insides of the lichen. Lichens are searched for by collectors, but are common.

Lichens in Indonesian Amber — **Lichens -** Because of their strange shape, and being crossed-sectioned in amber, lichens can display fantastic character. Not very rare.

Rare Indonesian Amber Colors

What this amber lacks in insects and hardness, it makes up for in size and colors. Truly stunning blue colors can be found in large pieces of amber. Not to mention the greens that tend to combine with the blues, and how they shine in the sun.

A Rare Deep Blue Indonesian amber — **Deep Blue Indonesian Amber -** A very high-grade piece. Rare, but abundant, and highly sought after.

Zebra Indonesian Amber

Zebra amber is amber mixed with clay. This area, being very tectonically active, means the earth has cooked and stirred this amber and clay underground for millions of years, giving it a very mixed look. This has been excellent for its colors, but terrible for its insect fossils preservation.

Blue Indonesian Amber

There are very rich, gemmy blue colored ambers that come out of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is caused by the yellow amber mixing with dark coal deposits underground for millenia.

Polished blue AAA grade Indonesian Amber — **Polished Blue -** 3 polished pieces of gemmy blue amber. This AAA blue is quite rare, and sought after.

Blue Zebra Indonesian Amber — **Blue Zebra Amber -** In a large sphere shape. Such size and color would be unheard of in most deposits.

Mixture of Blue and Green Colour in Indonesian Amber . — **Blue Green Amber -** The blue color is more rare, the green more common, and their mixture is beautiful.

Very Rare The Deepest Blue Indonesian Amber , This Colour is Unmatchable — **The Deepest Blue -** Indonesia can produce is this. These pieces are not translucent, but their colours are unmatchable. Very rare and collectable.

The Lightest Blue Is when pure yellow amber contains a rich blue Under a flashlight — **The Lightest Blue -** Is when pure yellow amber contains a rich blue when toplit. It is desirable for the amber to be clear yellow, and gemmy blue. Very rare and sought after.

The blue color exhibited by the Sumatran amber does not pass through the amber. This phenomenon in which color changes through the piece is called the Usambara Effect. The light coming out of the other side of the amber will be a different color than the light on top. This is true for many amber colors, not only blue Indonesian.

Blue Amber Under a Flashlight It is blue on top, but the colour coming out of it is red. — ***Blue Amber*** ***Under a Flashlight*** - It is blue on top, but the color coming out of it is red.

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Sources:

Liu Y, Shi G, Wang S (2014). “Color Phenomena of Blue Amber.” GIA Gems & Gemology. https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/summer-2014-liu-color-phenomena-blue-amber#the-usambara-effect

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