Amber is not exclusively the fossilized resin of pines, it was formed by various conifer trees and some tropical broad-leaved trees.

However there are hundreds of deposits of amber in the world, only about twenty of them have quantities large enough to be mined, The deposits vary greatly in age.

The resins vary in composition, fragrances and colours. The most famous are frankincense from Boswellia trees and myrta from Commiphora trees.

The oldest  known fossil resin is over 320 million years old, and hardly resembles other known fossil resin or amber - it has a form of microscopic, hairlike fiber. 

The oldest amber in the world containing insects and other larger organisms comes from Lebanon, and is about 120-130 million years old. Collections of this amber may be found in the Museum fur Naturkunde in Stuttgard or in American Museum of Natural History.

Most amber deposits in the world are not older than 65 million years.

The largest piece of amber in the world, derived from Miocene, was discovered in 1991 in Malaysia, weights 150 pounds and is on display in Museum fur Naturkunde in Stuttgard, in Germany.

The largest piece of transparent amber weights 33.5 pounds. It was found in 1860 in Burma. It is now in the collection of Natural History Museum in London.

The largest deposits of amber in the world derive from the shores of the Baltic Sea. The deposits are also exploited the largest.