Annual world demand for amber ranges in hundreds of tons, and an estimated 90 percent of the world's deposits are found in Russia's Kaliningrad region.

The world's only legal amber mine is in the small village of Yantarny, 60 kilometers northeast of the city of Kaliningrad. Several hundreds of tons of amber have been dug out from this enormous surface mine for the past four decades, most of which have been sold to China, according to Viktor Kostychev, deputy CEO of Yantarny Combinat.

"Our company is continuing to export significant quantities of amber to China," Kostychev said.  “As of today, our company already delivered 400 tons. For this year, Yantarny Combinat will deliver another 200 tons. The entire contract is worth over 150 million U.S. dollars.” Kostychev noted that amber is tree resin that was fossilized millions of years ago. In nature, it can be found in various shapes, sizes and colors. It is used for making jewelry and also has a role in traditional medicines.

Most of the world's amber that hits the market starts its journey in the state-owned factory in the village of Yantarny. Every year, dozens, if not hundreds, of tons of amber go through the hands of the workers of the Yantarny Kombinat, who work on their prefabrication. Amber stones here are pre-cut, polished and readied for sale to jewelers around the world, or to be turned into magnificent pieces of jewelry, right here.

In total, over 700 people work in the world's only amber factory, from mining to jewelry production, according to Kostychev.

But the increased demand and the relative ease of finding amber lured many into illegal mining and smuggling in this region. It was estimated that each year, almost 400 tons of amber were illegally mined and sold on the black market here, Kostychev said.

Black market for the shiny stones 

One of the world's famous amber jewelries is produced in an old building from the German past, on the outskirts of Kaliningrad, when Kaliningrad was known as Konigsberg. Vyacheslav Darvin founded that amber business 20 years ago.

Now he employs 120 workers and sells his amber products in over 60 countries around the world. Darvin remembers when there was chaos in the amber market.

“A few years ago, it was true anarchy in that area and it became massive. Whenever amber finds were close to the surface, up to 7 to 10 meters, people were just using shovels dug holes in the ground and mined for amber. It was massive all over the region,” Darvin said. 

Then, a couple of years ago, the Russian government decided to put an end to those illegal activities. Fines were increased, stricter controls at the borders has been put in place, and the state-owned company Rostec was given rights to run the world's only amber factory. The effects were immediate.

According to the amber businessmen in the region, illegal amber digging has almost completely stopped in this region, helping not just the region's budget but also protecting nature from human devastation.

Yet, these days there is a new threat facing legal amber producers, and it is coming from Ukraine. 

“Illegal mining affects prices and not the levels of our production. We'll increase our production and decrease costs, so we'll be competitive enough. But in the last year, illegal amber mining in Ukraine has dramatically reduced world market prices,” Viktor said. 

Whatever's happening elsewhere in the world of amber, one fact won't change: Kaliningrad was and always will remain the amber capital of the world.