Here's the latest beautiful natural artwork we've cut from one of those amazing petrified Araucaria trees from the Madagascar logs we imported recently. The log is partially hollow in the center of on of the two hearts that formed in the middle of the cross section. As the tree had begun to decay in one of those piths the log petrified and preserved the state of the trunk, forming a crystal lined geode where the wood had started to vanish before being buried. Once this transformation was complete, it was one of the most agatized pieces I'd seen in the entire lot! There are even crystal geode exposures on the side of the log that glisten when light hits them. The rind is otherwise smooth and quite solid. It's truly a gemstone fossil tree now! It's a really nicely preserved, colorful and largely fracture free log that sits at a really nice viewing angle without the need for a stand. This one is classic Madagascar with bright, natural shades and a high agate content that really took a lovely polish. The growth rings are very visible in the mirror polished face and the texture of the original log is visible clearly on the husk of the stone. This piece is cut and polished on the top display face in our shop which produces a mirror perfect polish unmatched by the imported work typically found on these stones. The bottom and sides are rough and natural, just as it was found. The log is nearly perfect save for some weathered flakes near the edges of the stone and represents one of the most beautiful logs we've offered from this site. Wonderful wood structure, nice shape and great agate - they don't get much better than this! It's a true collector piece and with our mirror perfect, wet looking polish it will show proudly whether in your collection, in your den, office or living room.
I met some new miners from Madagascar in Tucson a couple of years ago that were still unpacking their trailer when I bumped into them. While I'd seen the occasional colorful piece of wood amongst the more typical bland earth toned specimens typically representing the fossil wood found on this island, I'd never seen logs that looked quite like the large pieces these fellows were unloading from their truck. I was amazed (and very happy) to see several really colorful logs that seemed to be uncommonly solid and well agatized as well. I've learned that petrified wood this colorful isn't something to take for granted, and my early impression of the gem potential these ancient fossils held was dwarfed by what I actually saw when I cut the first one! I purchased several nice logs and have been cutting and polishing the stone ever since. The results were good enough that the following year I travelled to Madagascar and purchased more of this material and I'm thrilled with the quality I was able to obtain.
In this case, I carefully polished a short log from that shipment to produce one of the nicest mid-size Madagascar specimens I've seen yet! Since we cut and finished the raw material ourselves, we were able to apply some of the craftsmanship I've learned over the years to avoid and correct problems with flaked out fracture lines that are common in the imported specimens. I've also polished it to a much higher quality luster than you find on the imported varieties. Even if you already have Madagascar wood in your collection, you owe it to yourself to see how nice these ancient treasures can be when properly prepared! This wood takes an extreme polish that looks just fabulous. It has a ton of detail and some of the nicest colors I've ever seen in petrified wood (and considering what we usually have on hand this is saying a lot). The stone is dominated by colors with an intensity and proportion that has been unequalled in the scores of Madagascar logs I'd previously cut before stumbling into this collection of colorful specimens. The heart is clearly visible as are other structural features of this ancient conifer. It's a striking Madagascar wood round sure to be the finest in virtually any collection!
At Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary, we've perfected the process of polishing petrified wood to the point of causing panic amongst our imitators. The techniques are not secret (we even show many of them in the shop tour on our website) but the one detail you can't capture in a picture is dedication to the principal that every piece should receive the same care and attention to detail that the ones that end up in our own collection receive. Hard work and a no compromises attitude in the shop are what provide Sticks-in-Stones collectors one flawless, mirror perfect display specimen after another from our shop. If you haven't seen our lapidary work in person, we invite you to pick up a small piece at auction or from our eBay store just to see what all the fuss is about - we're confident you'll be able to see the difference easily yourself, but we're happy to help walk you through a simple inspection process that will help you sort the real value from the incredible claims of our imitators should you be curious. This impressive fossil treasure took millions of years to produce - it only seems fitting that we'd spend a little extra time to get the finish perfect as well!
This log is about 6 3/8" x 4 3/4" across the mirror polished face and is about 3 3/4" tall. Weight for this big specimen is 5.1 lbs!
Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary is happily providing UPS & USPS shipping to greatly reduce shipping charges on large rock orders. We will combine auction items or provide additional items from our shop to bring you the greatest possible value in fine Lapidary & stone collectibles!
I met some new miners from Madagascar in Tucson a couple of years ago that were still unpacking their trailer when I bumped into them. While I'd seen the occasional colorful piece of wood amongst the more typical bland earth toned specimens typically representing the fossil wood found on this island, I'd never seen logs that looked quite like the large pieces these fellows were unloading from their truck. I was amazed (and very happy) to see several really colorful logs that seemed to be uncommonly solid and well agatized as well. I've learned that petrified wood this colorful isn't something to take for granted, and my early impression of the gem potential these ancient fossils held was dwarfed by what I actually saw when I cut the first one! I purchased several nice logs and have been cutting and polishing the stone ever since. The results were good enough that the following year I travelled to Madagascar and purchased more of this material and I'm thrilled with the quality I was able to obtain.
In this case, I carefully polished a short log from that shipment to produce one of the nicest mid-size Madagascar specimens I've seen yet! Since we cut and finished the raw material ourselves, we were able to apply some of the craftsmanship I've learned over the years to avoid and correct problems with flaked out fracture lines that are common in the imported specimens. I've also polished it to a much higher quality luster than you find on the imported varieties. Even if you already have Madagascar wood in your collection, you owe it to yourself to see how nice these ancient treasures can be when properly prepared! This wood takes an extreme polish that looks just fabulous. It has a ton of detail and some of the nicest colors I've ever seen in petrified wood (and considering what we usually have on hand this is saying a lot). The stone is dominated by colors with an intensity and proportion that has been unequalled in the scores of Madagascar logs I'd previously cut before stumbling into this collection of colorful specimens. The heart is clearly visible as are other structural features of this ancient conifer. It's a striking Madagascar wood round sure to be the finest in virtually any collection!
At Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary, we've perfected the process of polishing petrified wood to the point of causing panic amongst our imitators. The techniques are not secret (we even show many of them in the shop tour on our website) but the one detail you can't capture in a picture is dedication to the principal that every piece should receive the same care and attention to detail that the ones that end up in our own collection receive. Hard work and a no compromises attitude in the shop are what provide Sticks-in-Stones collectors one flawless, mirror perfect display specimen after another from our shop. If you haven't seen our lapidary work in person, we invite you to pick up a small piece at auction or from our eBay store just to see what all the fuss is about - we're confident you'll be able to see the difference easily yourself, but we're happy to help walk you through a simple inspection process that will help you sort the real value from the incredible claims of our imitators should you be curious. This impressive fossil treasure took millions of years to produce - it only seems fitting that we'd spend a little extra time to get the finish perfect as well!
This log is about 6 3/8" x 4 3/4" across the mirror polished face and is about 3 3/4" tall. Weight for this big specimen is 5.1 lbs!
Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary is happily providing UPS & USPS shipping to greatly reduce shipping charges on large rock orders. We will combine auction items or provide additional items from our shop to bring you the greatest possible value in fine Lapidary & stone collectibles!