Want something truly unique and absolutely gorgeous in your petrified wood collection or fossil cabinet? This one is sure to be that, and a lot more! This is a large, well prepared, finely detailed and virtually complete cross section cut from the end of a very rare gem fossil. This unique show piece is a richly colored Rhexoxylon from Zimbabwe, Africa. It's one of the rarest of the fossil plants we've had the privilege of working with and this one represents a particularly large and solid specimen. The color in this specimen is quite good for this deposit and the hues of agate work beautifully to reveal the unique growth structure of this amazing trunk! The colors work to help clearly see the distinctive growth structure of an ancient Rhexoxylon. This log is very highly silicified and took an amazing polish. The exterior is naturally weathered and has a nice texture that reveals the growth structure in the sides and back of the stone. On the exterior trunk of Rhexoxylon we typically see vine like tube shapes that intertwine to form a very distinctive look which is easily observed on this nicely preserved log. There is a repaired fracture line on the right side where the saw cut intersected an old fracture. A small bit (easily visible in the second photo) is all that is missing after working our craft with this ancient fossil stone. We've lapped and polished it to a mirror perfect finish to coax every bit of that color and fossil detail from the stone to produce a true collector grade specimen. We rarely come across this material and it's more difficult to come by decent quality stone to work with every passing year so don't miss the chance of adding this uncommonly large specimen to your petrified wood collection!
This unusual looking specimen is a Rhexoxylon. It was thought to be a vine like plant with a woody trunk. It's very old (from the Molteno Formation -- Mid-Late Triassic). This one has very nice cell structure in the unusual formations that make up the pattern within the trunk cross section. The central pith framed by those flower like lobed petals is characteristic of the species. These fossils are particularly rare and good solid agatized ones with nice color are an especially rare treat for petrified wood collectors. The wood has a very high silica content so we were able to coax a really nice polish out of the specimen.
This is one of the few truly complete rounds I was able to obtain from an importer a few years ago. I hand picked the best specimens from the lot and then prepared them in my shop to produce true collector grade specimens. If the timeless mystery of this piece isn't enough for you, then I'm certain the simple, natural, gemmy beauty of it will be. The colors are high contrast and the wood grain is unique to this exotic species. This beautifully polished specimen is cut from the end of a very solid log. It's really a nice piece with an incredible polish, but what else would you expect from Sticks-in-Stones?! We've applied all of our considerable lapidary skills to bring out a mirror finish and produce a specimen worthy of display in your own collection. This nice large piece measures about 9 3/4" x 6 1/4" across the polished face and is cut between about 1/4" and 5 1/4" thick. Weight is 8.18 lbs.Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary is happily providing USPS & UPS shipping to greatly reduce shipping charges on large rock orders. We will combine all of your purchases from our shop to bring you the greatest possible value in fine Lapidary & stone collectibles!