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Here's the latest slab from those amazing petrified Araucaria trees we've been cutting from the Madagascar logs we imported a few years back. This one is classic Madagascar with warm, natural shades and a high agate content that really takes a lovely polish. This piece is a great display specimen that really shows off the wood grain of this absolutely ancient gem fossil. Wonderful wood structure, rich deep color, a nice shape and great agate. The wood grain growth seems to tell the tail of either second heart or large branch knot that decayed before the log was petrified leaving the hollow cavity in the center of the log. Look closely and you'll see the beginnings of other knots in the face so I think it likely the cavity was a decayed knot. It's a true collector piece and with our mirror perfect, wet looking polish to make sure it shows proudly whether in your collection, or on display in your den, office or living room! This gorgeous, absolutely choice petrified wood round is the latest in a series of really nice, very colorful rounds that we've cut from some incredibly high quality logs we obtained last year in Tucson. This round isn't the typical Pacific Northwest treasure that we specialize in - rather this one came from halfway around the world from the island nation of Madagascar! 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 among 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. In this case, I carefully polished a slab from that shipment to produce some of the nicest mid-size Madagascar rounds 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 unequaled 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! It's just amazing how beautiful petrified wood can be and this fine specimen found halfway around the world shows to what lengths people will go to bring these treasures to market! If you don't own a top grade piece form this increasingly important deposit yet in your own collection, this is your chance. This is a complete round cut from the center of a nice sized log. It shows the distinct (and uncommon to see so well in logs from this location) honeycomb grain structure of modern conifers (no resin canals visible) which suggests that it is most likely Araucaria, an ancient ancestor of today's evergreen conifers. This stone has been professionally polished on a special lap that produces a flat face and a mirror perfect shine. It is a full slab cut from the center of the log. The polish really is liquid perfect - a difference in the quality products Sticks-in-Stones has built its reputation on! It measures about 13 1/8" x 11" across the mirror polished face. It's cut about 0.81" thick. Weight is 8.86 lbs. Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary is happily providing UPS 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! |