how long do trichomes take to mature from clear to...

Plants are like people, we all do things at our own pace. I used to look at my trichomes to harvest, but I now rather look at the ripeness of the entire flower/plant. Some older sugar leaves could be completely amber while the flower is still mostly clear, so it can be tricky relying on trich colour. I think of it more like fruit. When you see an apple on a tree, you can tell when it's a bit fresh, ripe or over ripe (probably on the floor by then) just by looking at it. Once you've seen an apple go past it's best, you recognize the signs of when it's at its best and you don't need to inspect it with a microscope.