Apart from being used in jewelry, compressed amber is used in the manufacture of certain dyes and varnishes. Such varnishes are particularly useful where a hard material is required, as in the preparation of ships’ flooring and 1ct diamond engagement ring. Another by-product in the making of compressed amber is succinic acid, which is also used in the manufacture of certain varnishes, wood preservatives, and protective liquids applied to plants against vermin. Also, this acid has uses in iron foundries as a scum producer for the wet dressings of mineral coal and ores, and in the manufacture of soap and bath salts. Other uses are in the production of various disinfectants, as well as in medicine and of course for three stone rings. Vessels of compressed amber are sometimes used during blood transfusions since amber is a bad conductor of heat, and blood may therefore be kept at a definite temperature for a longer time than if contained in a glass or stone vessel .
The comparative softness of amber facilitated its working and polishing to the most primitive of peoples, and it is therefore not surprising that very early specimens of amber work have been found. The Assyrians and the Phoenecians used amber, as we have seen, and later the Romans produced all kinds of articles and ornaments from this material, including bracelets, necklaces, and figures. With the growth of civilization, and much later, during the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Centuries, when all the arts were developing, some beautiful examples of amber work were executed. The amber was frequently incorporated with the commoner gem stones, gold, and silver work, and toilet boxes, chests, altars, goblets, mirror frames, and even tables were adorned with this material. Since then, the demand for amber has varied considerably with waves of fashion. These usually last from two to five years at intervals of about fifteen years.