Polish designers give ancient amber a modern twist

Gdansk, Poland: Long coveted for its golden colour, scientific value and alleged healing properties, young Polish jewellers are transforming ancient a...

Gdansk, Poland: Long coveted for its golden colour, scientific value and alleged healing properties, young Polish jewellers are transforming ancient amber into trendy pieces for the contemporary consumer.

Designers working with the translucent fossil are combining traditional tools like drills, sanders, blasters and power saws with state-of-the-art technology at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk, a city on Poland's Baltic Coast known as the global amber capital.This photo shows jewellery made from natural Baltic amber, on sale at an amber shop on Mariacka Street in Gdansk, Poland (Photo by Wojtek RADWANSKI / AFP)

In virtual reality studios, students use their screens to silently assemble objects that spin, whirl and twist, and may one day become a new generation of prized jewellery.Zuzanna Franczak - assistant instructor at the Experimental Design Studio, presents how to design jewellery with use of Virtual Reality technology at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk, Poland (Photo by Wojtek RADWANSKI / AFP)

"From the very start, we learn the complete processes (of design), how to apply our creativity to them, how to use diverse technologies," student Martyna Golinska, 26, told AFP.

She is particularly drawn to the CNC numerical milling technique, most often used in the aerospace, automotive and medical industries.