I hadn't had the chance to work with any of this material in the last several years, but I came across a larger sized boulder that I purchased from the Dolph claim in the Columbia River Gorge almost 25 years ago and decided to cut it. The boulder was massive and the first cut revealed this unusual, more splotchy looking pattern in classic Biggs jasper colors. The most sought after specimens of this jasper are those with landscape arcs that are often cut into jewelry. I had purchased some larger pieces in hopes of cutting large specimens. The rough material is difficult to judge in raw form straight from the mine and you would often have to cut pieces to find where and whether the most sought after landscape patterns were present. This boulder did not yield that pattern, but what was present was still interesting and decorative, and being jasper, it polished to an absolute mirror finish! This slab was the second cut from the boulder and it did indeed begin to reveal the picture landscape patterns in brown and tan arcs. This thick, heavy slab is polished on the display face to a mirror perfect luster that lets the small details and subtle color of the stone shine through. The back is cut smooth and flat but otherwise unfinished while the sides are rough, just as the stone came from the mine. We don't sell stones that have simply been faced, we polish them to perfection to produce world class display specimens and this big display slab is one of them!
This is a really interesting, finely figured slab of Biggs Picture Jasper from the Columbia River Gorge here in Oregon. This jasper deposit is one of the most highly prized gemstone lapidary materials in the state but the higher grade material has became all but impossible to find over the years. There is an excellent combination of hills, canyons, colors, and even some little black dendrite "bushes" in the foreground of some of the best slabs from this stone. This one, by contrast, is less organized and has a more amorphous, abstract collection of patterns in the classic Biggs colors. It's a beautiful stone with an incredible polish and makes a great display piece of natural art.
This is a huge slab with one brilliantly polished face to show off what's hidden inside this mysterious gemstone. It's an unusual example of one of the varieties of Biggs Jasper that come from one of several mines near that town that bear the "Biggs" name. This one is dominated by warm tan and rich liquid looking brown, dark chocolate tones that just invite you to gaze into the stone. We've lapped and polished it on our specially built equipment to produce a collector piece worthy of display in a museum. Our lapidary work is what really sets out specimens apart from those you'll find elsewhere, and we're confident you'll see the difference at first sight with this gorgeous stone!
This large slab measures about 18" x 8" across the widest points over the polished face. It is cut just over 1" thick at the thickest point on the base. Weight is just over 10 lbs.
A nice, unique naturally wonderful stone collectible exclusively from Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary.