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I haven't finished one of these giant slabs in ages and this one is a good one to acquaint collectors with who may not have seen it previously. This is one of my favorite materials in Oregon though it is seldom seen anymore. It's a gorgeous, fairly solid jasper that takes a magnificent polish. The colors are dark and rich and aren't quite like anything else you'll encounter in nature. The best specimens are loaded with rich swaths of gold, red, green and burgundy with swirls of just about everything else possible including sparkling drusy quartz cavities! This natural artwork has been polished to a mirror perfect finish and is ready to display in your home or office. And yes, this stone is completely dishwasher safe and could be used as a holiday treat serving platter. One of the most colorful jasper deposits in the world is located on the Marson Ranch just outside of Ashwood Oregon. We've collected some exceptional "Marston wood" from this mine over the last few years and I'm finally getting some specimens prepared. This is one of my favorite materials to use in bookends as it is so richly colored and every set is completely different from the last, but the color is so rich and so brilliant that it makes wonderful display specimens as well. There is some debate as to whether this deposit is a wood replacement or not. Some rockhounds claim it's actually a petrified bog, but it could be a seam that formed under other circumstances as well. The jasper leaves enough clues behind to fuel the mystery, but not settle it. What isn't debated is that it's one of the most richly colored gem grade jasper deposits anywhere on the planet. Rock & Gem magazine featured an extensive write-up on the location and the stone it produced several years ago. The colors cover the rainbow, but are dominated by red, yellow, purple and green. Sometimes it has drusy crystal pockets or translucent bluish agate and occasionally you'll even find pastel mint tones or pinks. The natural rind of the stone near the edge of the seam is often punky, and somewhat porous and doesn't polish to the fine lustre the interior colorful portion of the seam does, but when present, I like it for the sand colored contrast which makes the stone look more natural. This is a really big slab from a nice, larger stone that I mined on the ranch during a private dig more than a decade ago. The land owner has since reported that the seam appears to have shifted or petered out and it is cost prohibitive to try to mine it any longer. That means this gorgeous stone is destined to become rarer and rarer as the existing stocks in rockhound piles are all that any of us are likely to be able to obtain again. It has wonderful color and looks great on display so I thought a collector might enjoy a truly massive polished specimen. Of course, this fine specimen proudly shows the perfect polish that the Sticks-in-Stones rockshop has dedicated itself to. The finish looks poured on - but there's nothing there except rock that's been polished to a mirror finish!! It's a wonderful specimen to introduce you to both our lapidary work and the fabulous color this stone can produce! It measures about 14 1/2" x 9 1/2" across the mirror polished face. It's cut about 0.60" thick. Weight is about 6.60 lbs. This is one of our largest slabs of this colorful jasper. 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!
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