Patricia Diaz Ruiz walks past the jewelry stands crowding the central plaza of Simojovel, a mountain town in Mexico’s southernmost state of Chiapas. She picks up pieces of amber, inspecting them with a loupe and a black light. “I like to see what makes it to the main market, just in case,” she says. “But I head to the mines every week. That’s where you find the best surprises.” Ruiz is the daughter of a fourth-generation amber miner. She sells the rarest pieces of the fossilized tree resin, such as…
