SiS: LARGE 10"+ Araucaria - Mirror Polished Madagascar Petrified Wood Round!

Description

This is a nice, larger sized petrified wood round cut from an above average grade petrified log from Madagascar
!  We cut and polish these stones ourselves in our own custom designed lapidary shop to produce a much better finished product that really outshines the typical import specimens.  The end result is a gorgeous gemstone fossil that really shows off what this gemmy stone is capable of being!  Most of this forest is petrified Araucaria, though I have seen the occasional oddity including Woodworthia come from what is surely an absolutely vast petrified forest on this island nation.  This one has great wood structure preserved in beautiful rich natural color and thoroughly brought to life in the mirror polished face of the stone slab!
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 distant 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 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 quality was so good that the following summer I packed my bags and travelled to Madagascar to personally select my next pile of logs to prepare, and the pieces I found were truly amazing!
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 lustre 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!
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 10" x 6 1/8" across the mirror polished face.  It's cut about 0.85" thick.  Weight is about 3.70 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!