Amber vs Jet
Amber and Jet are genuine alternatives to one another — a choice somebody actually makes — and differ on 2 measured properties, density most clearly.
Amber vs Jet
Amber
Tree resin that has had long enough — millions of years of polymerisation and terpene loss — and the material that gave electricity its name.
Jet
Fossil driftwood compressed into the gem-quality end of lignite — light, warm, carveable, and the reason 'jet black' is a phrase.
| Property | Amber | Jet |
|---|---|---|
| Density | 1.05–1.1 g/cm³ | 1.3–1.4 g/cm³ higher |
| Mohs hardness Mohs hardness is an ordinal scale: values can be ranked, but differences and ratios between them are not meaningful. | 2–2.5 | 2.5–4 higher |
| Refractive index Only one of the two has a figure we can stand behind, so there is nothing to compare. | 1.539–1.545 | Not known |
Choosing between them
Amber is recorded as a substitute for Jet — easier to work.
What it gives up: Translucent and warm-coloured, so it cannot do the one job jet was bought for — Victorian mourning dress required black and not shiny, and amber is neither.
In this application, on the evidence cited above.