Some terminology | |||||
Re: Newly made from some kind of thermoplastic resin -- Rosanna | Post Reply | Edit | Forum | Where am I? |
"Copal amber" and "African amber" are terms that are (unfortunately) also used to describe phenolic resin beads, and as well other plastic beads that are amber-colored. I would love to know when "copal amber" entered the vocabulary of the bead world. I have an active imagination and wonder if some sales person just could not bring themselves to say the beads were plastic, and came up with "copal amber" when someone asked if they were amber. Every once in a while I will see true copal beads for sale, but they are rare and fragile and look nothing like phenolic plastic.
"African amber" now seems to be a term applied to anything that remotely looks like amber but is clearly not natural amber.
Another term that is used a lot is "cherry amber" which is invariably translucent phenolic resin, or possible another plastic.
I'm sure there are others that can chime in on the subject of amber substitutes as well.
|