This is a truly striking, coal black, polished petrified wood slab from Arizona. This stone is not as highly silicified as some logs in the black forest are, but it is still quite showy and most of it polished nicely (some softer areas will have a slightly duller finish - it's inconsistently random in hardness across the face). While the polish isn't as glossy as the more silicified pieces sometimes found in this same area, the shape and color in this one still make it a nice display specimen and it's certainly one of the largest of this variety I've ever finished. The lighter colored mineral veins create a truly artful display in the face of this magnificently preserved fossil log. The small spine scar are characteristic of the Woodworthia logs sometimes found in the Black Forest area and other exposures of the Chinle formation. These logs are some of the most highly prized and a good one is hard to find anymore but we traded a local rockhound in Holbrook for this one last year and are pleased to be able to offer a slab fresh from our winter work in the rockshop. The rind is really beautiful and virtually flawless on this full and complete cross section slab. The face is polished to reasonable finish that is mirror like in many areas, duller and more matte in others. The second photo helps reveal the character of the finish through the reflection of the landscape around it. The back of the slab has been fiberglassed to provide extra security and strength for the specimen. A great opportunity for one of the less frequently seen varieties of Arizona petrified wood!
Arizona is famous for the colorful Rainbow Wood that is found around Holbrook Arizona. This is the same deposit that is home to the Petrified Forest National Park, but several nearby ranches also have petrified wood on and just below the surface as well. Not all of the petrified wood found in Northern Arizona (or even the park) is Rainbow Wood though. Several locations have well preserved, jet black wood that is often accented with beautiful veins of agate for a gorgeous contrast. This black wood is often very well preserved but growth structure is difficult to see with the naked eye. But this wood is often far better preserved than the Rainbow Wood is and provides some of the most interesting specimens for study under magnification and this one is no exception! The growth structure of this ancient conifer is easy to see in the lighter areas and even the dark zones yield an amazing glimpse back in time with good light and magnification. These black specimens are almost all in the Chinle formation which is in the upper Triassic. It dates to about 210-225 million years ago.
If you're new to our shop the one thing you should expect is to see an unexpectedly glossy finish on each stone we prepare. This complete round is a wonderful example of our work. It's been cut with a diamond saw and flat lapped on equipment I built myself to produce a mirror perfect polish unmatched by any of our many would-be imitators. The detail captured and revealed through the highly polished surface is just immaculate in most wood, slightly less dramatic in this variety. It's easily some of the most interesting wood to be found anywhere and we've prepared it to be all that it can be! It's a truly special find and we won't likely have a lot more so get a piece for your collection while it's available!
This is a slab from the center of the log and measures about 13 7/8" x 12 3/4" across the polished face and is cut about 0.70" thick. Weight is 7.50 lbs.
A nice, unique natural wonder collectible exclusively from Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary!
Arizona is famous for the colorful Rainbow Wood that is found around Holbrook Arizona. This is the same deposit that is home to the Petrified Forest National Park, but several nearby ranches also have petrified wood on and just below the surface as well. Not all of the petrified wood found in Northern Arizona (or even the park) is Rainbow Wood though. Several locations have well preserved, jet black wood that is often accented with beautiful veins of agate for a gorgeous contrast. This black wood is often very well preserved but growth structure is difficult to see with the naked eye. But this wood is often far better preserved than the Rainbow Wood is and provides some of the most interesting specimens for study under magnification and this one is no exception! The growth structure of this ancient conifer is easy to see in the lighter areas and even the dark zones yield an amazing glimpse back in time with good light and magnification. These black specimens are almost all in the Chinle formation which is in the upper Triassic. It dates to about 210-225 million years ago.
If you're new to our shop the one thing you should expect is to see an unexpectedly glossy finish on each stone we prepare. This complete round is a wonderful example of our work. It's been cut with a diamond saw and flat lapped on equipment I built myself to produce a mirror perfect polish unmatched by any of our many would-be imitators. The detail captured and revealed through the highly polished surface is just immaculate in most wood, slightly less dramatic in this variety. It's easily some of the most interesting wood to be found anywhere and we've prepared it to be all that it can be! It's a truly special find and we won't likely have a lot more so get a piece for your collection while it's available!
This is a slab from the center of the log and measures about 13 7/8" x 12 3/4" across the polished face and is cut about 0.70" thick. Weight is 7.50 lbs.
A nice, unique natural wonder collectible exclusively from Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary!