Quality
Astrologically, quality depends more on transparency and relatively less on colour. However, the Amber stone’s quality depends on its origin, clarity, colour, shape and the presence of unique inclusions, such as leaves, insects etc. The best quality amber gemstone is the one that has a clean, genuine amber in bright golden yellow colour.

Origin
While the Baltic Amber stone from the Baltic States of Russia is immensely popular for its rich colour, natural beauty and high content of succinic acid, natural Amber stones are also obtained from other mining locations. The other places include; Russia, Dominican Republic, Burma (Myanmar), Mexico, Italy, Germany, Africa, Indonesia etc. The other popular choices are Burmese Amber (Burmite), African Amber, Simetite (Amber from Sicily Italy), Indonesian Amber and Dominican Amber.

Clarity
Naturally-transparent amber gemstones are considered quite desirable as they are rare. Amber stone can be transparent to completely opaque in appearance. Amber stone mostly contains inclusions such as gas bubbles, flow lines, sun spangles etc. What makes the gemstone highly valuable is that it adds an element of interest with the presence of a clearly visible trapped insect or plant.
Colour
The colour of Amber ranges from pale yellow to deep honey brown. The most desirable gemstone for astrological purposes are yellow and orange stones. Other colours like black, blue, green and white are also found naturally, but are very rare.

Shape
Amber gemstone is commonly polished into a free-form shape to avoid any damage in its natural beauty due to its fragile nature. The gemstones that are relatively less common but still in demand are the ones that are perfect round and oval.

The gemstone that grabs a higher value are the ones that appear more beautiful and unique. This also applies for the pricing of Amber gemstones. The presence of unique objects such as prehistoric insects and twigs add an element of interest and that enhances the value of Amber gemstones. Other factors that are also considered origin, colour, clarity, shape and size.

Note – Amber stone prices in India start from Rs 150 per carat and can go up to Rs 2500 per carat depending upon the quality and uniqueness of the stones. Due to the difference in demand and supply equation, the prices of Amber gemstone in other countries such as the USA, UAE and UK may vary.

Origin
The physical appearance of Amber gemstone is determined by the origin which should be assessed by trade experts. This is because most of the gemological laboratories do not certify Amber gemstones at origin level. Due to its warm colour tones and historical significance, Baltic Amber price remains the highest. The other types of Amber stones that are also valued for their quality and rarity are Burma amber, Dominican Amber and Indonesian Amber.

Colour
The colour of Amber ranges from pale yellow to deep honey brown. The highly priced gemstones are the ones in deep yellow and orange tones. Other colours like black, blue, green and white are also found naturally, but are very rare. Natural cherry red, blue and green amber are exceedingly rare and often sold a high premium.

Clarity
Amber stone value remains highest for rare and super fine pieces such as the gemstone that has a distinctly visible insect. The presence of cloudy clarity and numerous minute bubbles often reduce the Amber gem price in the market.

Shape
The perfect oval and round amber stones are rare and enjoy heavy demand in the market. However, the readily available and quite affordable Amber stones are free-form stones.