Martine, I have copied the blog entry and pasted it here - written by Jamey Allen in April of 2012 on his Amber is Forever Forum group. Perhaps you have to be a member before you can see entries. I'm sure Jamey wouldn't mind!

Apparently the name "Faturan" is well-known in the Mediterranean and Near Eastern regions, and in recent years (perhaps mainly due to the Internet) has become more widely disseminated.

The idea of an amber-like material called "Faturan" has gained almost mythic proportions. So many people believe this stuff exists, that it is VERY difficult to counter unwarranted ideas, even by the use of science and reason. I've been told on more than one occasion that I don't know about Faturan because I am an American. However, I am an American who has studied amber and amber imitations thoroughly for over thirty-five years--and I am internationally well-traveled, and have visited a number of museums to document amber collections.

So, exactly WHAT is Faturan? On the Net you can find a variety of explanations, most of which more-or-less agree that this was a concoction made from actual amber (shavings) melted together with plastic and other materials. So it is FRANKLY an imitation, or at best a concoction of adulterated amber.

Here's a Wikipedia article that purports to describe this material. However, before you read it, please be aware that this article is full of mistaken ideas about amber, and what it is possible to do with amber in terms of making a new material. Clearly, this was composed by someone who believes the myth of Faturan, but who is not well versed in science and technology:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faturan

There are two important and distinct problems with the basic story about Faturan:

1) The amber shavings are "melted."

Let's remember this (as said by me MANY times--including in messages here and in posted essays)--when amber is heated it DOES NOT achieve a liquid or semi-liquid state. At best, heated amber becomes soft and gummy. (If you can melt "amber"--it it NOT amber. This is one of the ways we distinguish between actual amber and similar-looking copals or other natural resins. The non-meltabilty of amber is one of its prime characteristics!)

In the manufacture of pressed amber (ambroid), great care is taken in the preparation and heating of the material to get the desired result. Amber melts at about 615 degrees F. If the temperature is a few degrees too low, the material remains hard and stiff. If the temperature is a few degrees too high, the material catches fire and burns. The possibility of pressing amber was only made possible by the development of scientifically calibrated instruments, devised in 1881, that made it possible to slowly and carefully raise the temperature of the container and amber, degree by degree, observed by the use of an accurate thermometer. (This is why there is no "pressed amber from ancient China" (nor from anywhere), and it is precisely why "primitive societies" DO NOT make pressed amber.

Pressed amber comes to us from Germany (where the technique was invented), Poland, and Russia (or former USSR States). It's possible the Chinese now press amber. We need confirmation of this. When we find pressed amber products from what seems to be a "primitive" society or area, it is nearly 100% sure this material has been exported into this region. The bottom line is that late-19th C. science and technology made pressed amber possible. Suggestions that people who do not have this equipment somehow manage to "melt amber" to make concoctions, are NOT credible.

2) The plastic is "melted."

Plastics are broadly divided into two groups: A)--those that will melt when heated (thermoplastics or thermolabile plastics); or B) those that do not melt when heated (thermosetting plastics). The story of Faturan suggests that "Bakelite" pieces were combined with amber and melted together. Ignoring for the moment the previously presented FACT that amber cannot be easily melted, no thermosetting plastics--meaning NONE of the phenolic plastics most often used for making amber imitations--can be melted to be combined with anything else. This is an impossibility.

Let's assume for a moment that a thermoplastic was used in the manufacture of Faturan. HOW is it possible that the melted thermoplastic was combined with amber--when the amber itself does not melt to a liquid state--and particularly when the temperatures necessary for melting the plastic and softening the amber would be VERY DIFFERENT temperatures? The idea is not credible.

Any combination of amber with plastics or resins, would not be a homogenous material. We would see chunks of something, suspended in something else.

3) The plastic is "Bakelite."

As I have said many many times, Bakelite is primarily an industrial material. Because of its method of manufacture, Bakelite is classically dark in color (brown, black, khaki, or mottled combinations of these colors) and is always OPAQUE. It is not a pretty colorful material. However, in 1926, cast phenolic plastics were developed by the Bakelite Corporation, that were made with translucent diaphaneities, and in a broad variety of colors. It is THIS MATERIAL that has been routinely used to make realistic-looking imitations of amber. Like Bakelite, cast phenolic plastics do not melt when they are heated, because they likewise are thermosetting materials. Although it is routinely said that cast phenolic plastics "are Bakelite," in fact, they are not. Their manufacture is distinctly different, event though they are made (primarily) from similar materials. It is a mistake to call cast phenolic plastics "Bakelite." However, this is such a wide-spread mistake that no lobbying from me is likely to change the situation. But, let's admit it. To call this material "Bakelite" is just a convenience. It is jot accurate, it ignores the truth--and the very fact that this happens helps the seller misrepresent the item in question, who may say it is much older than from AFTER 1926.

Nevertheless, any suggestion that Bakelite or any other phenolic plastic can be melted and combined with melted amber is mistaken. This is physically impossible.

So, what now? Is it possible that a gentleman in Egypt (or somewhere) made a concoction that he called "Faturan"--that was made to imitate amber?

Absolutely! LOTS of imitations of amber have been produced over the years--and many of these might derive from some unique "recipe" developed by an enterprising individual. However, the idea that Faturan is made from "amber and Bakelite melted together" is not a tenable idea. It's virtually an impossible idea.

So, WHAT ARE THESE BEADS?

Over the years, time after time--MORE times than I care to remember--I have been told that certain beads are "not true amber--but ARE amber mixed with resin"--or "are amber and plastic melted together." This is essentially the "Faturan story"--even though I did not know this name until fairly recent years. In the vast majority of instances when I have been told this story, and I was able to examine the beads in question, I quickly determined that these beads were made from phenolic plastics. This made it virtually impossible that ANY real amber was included in these beads--making them 100% plastic imitations. And I have to say, it has been a matter of some frustration that when I have told the inquirer the bad news, more often than not, my news has been rejected--in spite of the fact that SCIENCE is on MY SIDE. I understand, based on MANY experiences, that people would rather believe a romantic myth than to believe that the beads they admire so much are merely plastic from some factory. But THAT is the TRUTH !

If Faturan ever existed at all, it was not concocted via the method(s) suggested--because these are impossible. Let's be reasonable. If Faturan beads were made, their production would have been limited--by the length of time that the gentleman made those beads, and by the quantity of his output. He would not have made millions (let alone billions) of such beads. Yet, millions or even billions of plastic beads are routinely misrepresented as "amber mixed with resin" and various similar stories--including that "they are Faturan.". AND, these plastic beads are OFTEN said to be older than the time that cast phenolic plastic was invented--so this idea is likewise false.

What we have here are instances of MISTAKEN IDENTITY. The sellers are applying a romantic name to ordinary plastic beads that post-date 1926, are all-plastic, and are just nice beads. The misrepresentation is either a mistake, or it's a contrivance, that is devised to fetch a higher price for the beads than they would garner had the seller frankly said "these are nice old plastic beads."

CONCLUSIONS

Faturan is NOT what the sellers say it is--because this is impossible. If there are any Faturan beads circulating, they are far-out-numbered by ordinary plastic beads that have been misidentified. If there are any Faturan beads circulating, they are most likely not nearly as old as sellers suggest. If you believe the "Faturan story" and pay an outrageous price for what are merely 20th C. plastic beads or no merit, beyond their prettiness, you are possibly just a foolish person. (I mean, a person who is willing to be fooled, and to pay too much--basically because of a seller's pitch and the use of a romantic name.)

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"Misketa"is just a name for hand-rosaries in the Middle East (and places where Islam is practiced), and in Christian countries (or in a non-religious way) where "worry breads" are used. A misket or misketa is a hand rosary or a worry-bead-strand. Often these have been made to simulate amber. Some are phenolic plastics (particularly older ones), but MANY are new plastics, and are not thermosetting. In general, misketa beads (also sometimes called komboloi, misbaha, tasbih, etcetera) are or may be composed from smaller beads than those used for longer necklace-format prayer beads.

I hope this is helpful. Jamey