Cut your plants Martybutch. It's true that amber is past prime. You'll find more CBN, a degradation product of THC, in dark trichomes. If you're trying to maximize potency, shoot for harvesting before a significant portion turn amber. Some people even cut before a majority turn cloudy. It's true that cloudy is near peak ripeness, but what is unclear is if cloudy is actually slightly past peak ripeness.
This is a tough judgement call that will vary depending on the strain. Say you have a strain that can be chopped anywhere from week 7 to 9.
Week 7: the trichs are 80% clear, 20% cloudy.
Week 8: 40% clear, 60% cloudy.
Week 9: 10% clear, 70% cloudy, 20% amber.
I might chop at week 7.5, unless the plant is the type to pack on 20-25% more weight in its final week, in which case new trichs would be produced along with that extra weight.