A lifelong passion for amber. "Just think - says Salvatore Greco - that I was originally a legal expert, but, at the age of 20, I devoted myself, out of sheer curiosity, to discovering this resin and bringing together this collection. "There is great amazement about the collection of amber that Salvatore Greco, the owner (now with his son Marco) of Ambra Greco, a producer and distributor of amber, presented at the last VicenzaOro2, with the display "Ambra, scrigno del tempo". Totalling around seventy pieces, from Asia, the Americas and Europe, it illustrated the entire cycle of this incredible resin, "elektron" as the anciSalvatore and Marco Grecoent Greeks called it, amber for modern civilisations after the intervention of the Arabs who immediately recognised its aesthetic and commercial properties.

THE EXHIBITION offered a fascinating itinerary designed to reveal the most beautiful, original types of amber, but also to understand their deep-rooted properties. Not to mention the incredible inclusions: insects, flowers, small reptiles and amphibians, the perfect, indelible fossilised remains of distant lives, perfectly conserved within these drops of sunlight. Unique, for example, is the piece incorporating the world's best example of a blattoid insect. Worthy of admiration are the cognac-coloured ambers from China, the Mexican green amber, the amber from the Dominican Republic, blue and gold due to the presence of methane, the golden amber from the Baltic, the red, extremely rare Simetite amber from Sicily, indisputedly the most valuable.

AMBER WITH AN INTENSE DARK BROWN COLOUR, Simetite is a gift from Etna. "Extremely difficult to find - Greco tells us - since no more than 300 grams are collected each year. It is an extremely pure type of amber. Finding it is a long, complex process. Over time, the lava spiral have trapped the fossil resins that the water from the Simeto river patiently removes - Greco continues - and small fragments are deposited more than 200 metres from the bank, in the open sea. Here, the Simetite forms a deposit and then we need to wait for a heavy sea to restore to the sun what is basically its property". A story simply told, but with a lot of curious informations, like the use of amber for medicinal purposes or magic, that many people used in the past, the reproductions of antique jewels and a brief mention of archaeology. A world of honey-coloured light that tells the story of our planet.

The Greco family was born with amber. Of course, the company is not millions of years old, but only thirty. What we mean is that the members of the Greco family have devoted themselves to amber from the very start. They are artisans and trades in love with their product and skilfully express the vocation that they creatively practise on a noble, or even legendary, material.

Although amber is simply overflowing with meanings overflowing with meanings (therapeutic, sacred, magical, geological), its beauty alone would be enough to set it apart. The Greco family understand every single aspect of this material and discover every meaning and response, whilst always preserving and response, whilst always preserving its authentic character (and never treating it). Consequently, only the very best and most precious amber is considered. The company also adapts amber for use as jewellery and refined objects, enabling this fossil resin to become a unique, personal and distinguishing piece.

Milan, the jewellery capital, has thus seen the development of a company whose range features exceptional items, from blue Dominican amber, to Sicilian simetite, and whose expertise also extends to other legends: from conch and melo melo pearls to the fabulous Mogok gemstones, with a strong inclination for exclusivity.

Conch Pearls and Melo Melo
Legendary. The conch pearl, a natural pearl from the Antiles, is found (but only very rarely) in a univalve shell (Strombus gigas). Its "flamage" is famous and the pearl's fire-like glow has made it a favourite with European aristocrats (and the whole world) since the early nineteenth century. Melo Melo pearls on the other hand come from Vietnam. They are magnetic and cannot be cultured. They are also mysterious as they have no nucleus and a laminated structure.

MOGOK
Introducing Mogok. This name refers to the almost inaccessible Burmese village whose inhabitants seek, mine, polish and trade the local precious stones. They make their living from (and live above) a unique deposit that phires, moonstone topaz and jade). Practically all members of the community are experts in precious stones. Ambra Greco buys her gems here and brings them to the Western market. Perfectly natural, untreated stones worked with the traditional techniques.

An almost impenetrable valley, craftwork techniques which have remained practically unchanged for a thousand years and the legendary name of Mogok.

For Westerners, Mogok, a village in hidden dense Burma jungle vegetation, is practically "off limits". Only a few privileged traders are allowed to take part (once a year) in the auctions of rubies and other stones, which, by order of the military junta, are sold in controlled lost of minimum quantities. But this is nothing if we compare such a situation with that of the nobler Burmese gems, which normally avoid the compulsory auctions and reach the marketplace via unlawful and quite risky routes. Those who are familiar with these parallel channels find it fairly easy to procure the very best gems. The impenetrability of the area and the scarcity of the stones only increase the legend of Mogok.

For the more refined gemmologists and jewellers, Mokok is a synonym for rubies, but also for sapphires, spinels, peridot and moonstone. The Burmese specimens of these gems are rightfully considered as being of excellent quality on account of their natural splendour. "Natural" because the gems are not treated in any way whatsoever and never undergo thermal treatment. Dealers however must choose very carefully. Mogok rubies over one and half carats are quite rare, those over three carats are definitely an exception and those above ten carats tend over to be of mediocre quality. Sapphires over ten and even twenty carats tend to be extremely beautiful specimens, thought they are sold at high prices. Mogok topaz is very luminous, with pink reflections, while jade, used by local artisans to produce jewels, is often more expensive than high-quality emerald, especially in the case of the so-called "Imperial" variety with its brilliant green and lavander colours.

As bright and warm as a sunbeam, unique in its chromatic veins, with its mythological origin - the tears shed by Heliades over the death of their brother Pheathon - amber is a very up-to-the-minute gem. And for over thirty years, Ambra Greco has been the name of the reference for this precious fossilised resin.

Amber: a gem and source of protection and positive energy. Over the years, brilliance and rarity have been made it a sought-after and elegant ornament with great appeal and value. And its appeal and value have recently been augmented by the discovery of the new mines in Santo Domingo that yield a type of amber with particular clarity and a magical colour. Amber enchants and therefore is appreciated. And it was true passion that drove Salvatore Greco, an expert gemmologist, to establish his Ambra Greco. This is a passion that, day by day, has enriched the commercial importance of this super-expert company that runs to separate offices and cutting facilities, in Milan and Santo Domingo (where it directly supervises the mining operations). And Ambra Greco as also responsible for introducing into the market the highly unique amber found recently on this island in the Caribbean. However, it must also be noted that Ambra Greco's trade activities focus on the other types as well, such as Baltic amber, known for its opacity and hues that go from white to light yellow, as well as symetite, the legendary Sicilian amber distinguished by its intense colours: the rarest and loveliest amber in the world, according to Greco. Baroque and smooth beaded necklaces and bracelets, knick-knacks, jewellery (also on customer request), splendid loose amber with organic inclusions: in addition to all this, Ambra Greco recently presented the "Simboli" jewellery collection market by its contemporary inspirations, created in collaboration with Vicenza designer Elena Bastaldon. The high quality offered by Ambra Greco is guaranteed by the fact that the company has registered its trademark - a decisive move denoting commercial transparency: bakelite and deceptive adulteration: are strictly off-limits. The company offers exclusively natural product that are guaranteed by the specific and extensive certificates that come with each and every item.