As amber with inclusions can be very expensive, running into thousands of pounds for pieces with the best inclusions, such as a lizard for example, imitations have become more widespread as the hobby has grown. So how do you tell if your proposed purchase is real or fake? Well firstly, the price can be a give away. Recently on an auction site I saw a dragonfly in amber with a starting price of £1 from China, underneath was an exact replica with the same starting price, again from China. Genuine pieces would demand a much higher price. Also, as every example is unique, these were likely to be fake since you would not find two identical pieces. Another point to note is that the inclusion was positioned dead in the centre with legs and wings perfectly spread and insects are never that accomodating. There are other methods which include putting a hot needle onto the piece of amber. If it is real, you will get a lovely pine smell but who would put their specimen to this test? Some other fakes that have been discovered involved a hole being drilled into a piece of amber without an inclusion, an insect being placed inside and it being refilled with copal resin.