Jasper Gemstone

• Various sizes
• Highly demanded
• Quality material

This new rock has been found along the northwest coast of Madagascar after years of unsuccessful searching. The deposit formed similar to a rhyolite flow but has been totally silicated. The rhyolitic spheres or orbs come in an astonishing array of colors and color combinations.

The background can be white, pink,, green, red or yellow. Botryoidal formations as well as white and deep green druzy are also common. The deposit, being located at the edge of the ocean, can only be seen and collected from at low tide. This remote area has no roads so the material must be transported to civilization by boat.

Ocean Jasper® is produced from only one mine near Marovato, which is owned by Paul Obenich of Madagascar Minerals

Imperial Jasper is a variety of Imperial Jasper that has an abundance of lines in its pattern. These types of lines, sometimes referred to as “streamers”, are found in all the fine jaspers (Willow Creek, Morrisonite, etc.) but are very common in this variety of Imperial.

Streamers are formed when the jasper is fractured, which results either from stress or shrinkage. These fractures are then filled in and sealed with more jasper. An endless variety of patterns can result with subtle shifts in the color of the jasper filling these voids.
Imperial jasper nodules come from Mexico. It has a variety of colors, reds, greens, orange and more. It has great orbs and banding and sometimes both
Royal Imperial Jasper comes from north of the border between Jalisco and Zacatecas, Mexico about 50 miles north of the city of Guadalajara. This material is found in small nodules with a soft white chalky “skin”, as opposed to Imperial Jasper which is similar in colors but found in large veins and bigger pieces.

The Greek origin of the word jasper, iaspis, means “spotted stone.” This form of semiprecious chalcedony, or microcrystalline quartz, is usually red, brown or green. Its patterns are much less regular and defined than those of the other chalcedony variety, agate. Another difference between the two is that jaspers are generally opaque, while agates tend to be translucent

Petrified palm wood is the state stone of Texas and the state fossil of Louisiana.  It comes from palm trees in the Oligocene Epoch, between 20 – 40 million years ago, give or take a few years.

The characteristic spotted look of palmwood is from the rod like structures within the grain of the wood. Depending upon the angle the lapidary uses to cut the stone, these structures show up as spots, tapering rods, or lines.

Petrified palm wood is a variety of chalcedony and is very hard, around 7 1/2 on the Mohs scale of hardness and takes a wonderful polish which makes it a great stone for jewelry.