琥珀別名血珀、云珀、江珠、獸虎等。俗話說：“千年琥珀，萬年茯苓”。琥珀是古代松科或金縷梅科植物松或楓等樹木上滲出來的樹脂，久埋地下，經(jīng)過千百年后，逐漸轉(zhuǎn)化為化石，形狀多呈不規(guī)則的粒狀、塊狀和鐘乳狀，體輕、質(zhì)脆、易碎。色澤不一，有血紅、黃棕、褐、黃、黑等多種顏色。紅色為上等，又名“血珀”。棕色次之，黃色較差。從表面上看，又可分為有光澤和無光澤兩種。
      
    另外還有一種器珀，它是用松香制成，形如墜狀，稱“琥珀墜”。質(zhì)堅硬，有紅、黃二色，表面有光澤，體透明，僅用于裝飾品。
      
    我省西峽縣盛產(chǎn)琥珀，歷史悠久，埋藏量豐富。它集中在一個九里寬，二百里長的狹長地帶。這昊的琥珀藏量大，質(zhì)量居全國之首。琥珀是一種'窩子礦'，大窩可挖到幾千公斤，小的也可以挖到幾公斤，一般在幾十公斤以上。1980年，西峽縣挖出一大窩重達(dá)6784斤，價值248，600多元。1980年，西峽縣重陽鄉(xiāng)挖出罕見的大琥珀，重達(dá)5.8公斤，中有昆蟲花紋。顏色紫紅，半透明，有光澤，呈方形或菱形結(jié)晶塊，松香味甚濃，系上等藥用琥珀。西峽琥珀因項鏈質(zhì)量最佳，引起國內(nèi)外注視。


    
    Ambers, with other names of Blood Pearl, Beast Tiger and so on, are fossils made from resin of ancient pines or maples. They are always in irregular, lump or stalactitic shapes, having light weight, crisp and fragile quality, and many colors like blood red, yellowish-brown, brown, yellow, black, etc. Among them, red ones are the best, brown ones are the second and yellow ones are the worst. Besides, they are also divided into two kinds according to their appearance: glossy ones and unpolished ones. Furthermore, there is another ware amber which is glossy and transparent, with plummet shape, red or yellow color and hard quality, and is only used in ornaments.
      
    Xixia County teems with ambers which are historic and in a large quantity, whose quality occupies the head position in China. It attracts world's attention for its high-quality necklaces. In 1980, a rare big amber was dig out in Chongyang Village in Xixia, which was high-quality and a superior medicinal amber.