This Russian City is the Amber Capital of the World | National Geographic

On beaches like this one outside of Kaliningrad, precious gemstone amber is so plentiful you might simply find it washed up in the sand. Amber is actually fossilized tree sap that's 50 million years old. Ninety percent of the world's supply of amber comes from right here in Kaliningrad. Amber is big business, mined in massive quarries using pressurized water. The most valuable pieces are first sorted by size, then polished with wooden cubes and huge rotating machines to remove impurities, shaped by hands using powerful saws, and then prepared for manufacture to ship out to artisans and jewelers all around the world.

The best of their work over the past centuries is housed here at the city's Amber Museum. Have attitudes towards amber changed in recent times? People started to assemble in Russia in the 10th century; it was as precious as gold. But the attitude is changing because before, the attitude was like, "Oh, it's a stone of my grandmother," because it was very popular in the '60s. But now even local young people who are wearing jewelry sleight of hand to see some of these new styles.

I decided to pay a visit to a local jewelry designer who specialized in making customized new designs for the next generation. They really are cutting-edge. They use 3D modeling to create a design, then use wax models to create plaster casts filled with molten silver. Amber pieces are sorted by exact shades of color, polished to a brilliant shine, and then laser soldered into place. It really was quite impressive.

So, when you come to the amber capital of the world, you know exactly what to bring home as a souvenir. It's the perfect gift for someone you love. [Music]