Baltic amber earrings hand carved in translucent sparkling cognac color. Set in 925 sterling silver. Length: 1.58 inch (4 cm) with hooks Width: 0.53 inch (1.4 cm) Weight: 3.4 gram It is probably the most popular, recognizable and one of the most common color, cognac (or whisky) amber comes mainly in treated form (initially transparent yellow), but can be also natural. Slow heating deepens the color, makes it more shimmering and bright than natural. Cognac amber is often autoclaved (treated with high pressure saturated steam at about 120°C/248°F) which results in inner cracking. The steam penetrates the amber’s structure and alter its color. That’s how decorative bubbles (or so-called “scales”) and shiny discs are created. Heating is a very cold technique that has been in use for hundreds of years to enhance amber’s natural color while autoclaving has been developed in the second half of the 20th century. There are several shades of cognac amber, varying from light honey to dark cognac, almost cherry shade.