The equipment for test marking has already been sent to the Kaliningrad Amber Combine, which is part of Rostec. It is scheduled to be launched in November. In addition to significant volumes of illegally mined raw materials, counterfeiting is a serious problem in the market. According to various estimates, they account for between 20% and two-thirds of all finished amber products.
The main goal of the project is to “clean up” the market, similar to what has already been done for other product categories in Russia. Following the pilot phase, the equipment will be analyzed and, if necessary, refined. The full-scale launch of the labeling system in the industry is planned for 2026.
Plans to implement the pilot project were previously announced at AmberForum'25, which took place in Moscow in August. At that time, Oleg Evtushenko, executive director of the Rostec state corporation, stated that an optimal scheme had already been developed, equipment had been selected, and the necessary software had been developed. The experiment itself to label amber and amber products was launched by Rostec back in 2023.
Initially, it was planned to create a special information system that would allow tracking the entire path of the stone from extraction to the end buyer. The marking was to be applied to the transport packaging containing the raw stone, such as containers or zip bags. The digital code would contain information about the grade and weight of the amber and would be immediately entered into the system, including customs authorities, which would eliminate the possibility of substitution. In the future, it is planned to mark finished products made from legal raw materials. A source in government structures reported on the launch of the project in November and its goals, as reported by RBC.
Earlier, Russians were reminded of the conditions for retirement in 2026.