The type of coal most revered for its aesthetic appeal is that derived from fossilized monkey puzzle trees. It is hard, can be carved and polished to a brilliant finish, and has a beautiful dark black luster. It is sometimes called black amber because it has similar triboelectric properties to amber: the ability to generate static charge and make hair stand on end. We know it more commonly as jet. It was made fashionable in Britain in the nineteenth century by Queen Victoria, who mourned the death of her consort Prince Albert by wearing black clothes and jet jewelry for the rest of her life.
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