SiS: ZANY 200 Million Year Old 12" Arizona BLACK & RAINBOW Heart Petrified Wood

Description

There isn't a hole in space in front of your eyes at all, but it looks like all of the color of the universe swirling into a burning black hole!  This is one of the more unusual and visually captivating petrified wood rounds we've finished this year and I am still just blown away by that incredible display of 100% natural color!!  This is one of only a couple of logs I've ever cut from Arizona that was anything even remotely like this.  It appears to be a smaller diameter trunk entombed in sandstone, but I believe those arcs in the orange are actually growth structure from the tree as well.  It's a curious and beautiful puzzle that defies any explanation I can come up with as to how it formed.  One possible explanation is that the center of this tree was more dense or better deprived of oxygen when buried and then some of the outer wood was partially decayed after being buried, but the harder center survived to produce this magnificent fossil wood display... maybe?! That black area is just as silicified as the rest of the rainbow heart of this log and is the only thing like it I've ever encountered in Rainbow wood.  The color in this fascinating, thick, polished slab specimen simply has to be seen in person to be truly appreciated - it literally glows and it clearly shows where Arizona "rainbow" wood gets its fanciful name!   Whatever the story this 200 million year old fossil is trying to tell, it's unquestionably beautiful and of course we've polished it to a mirror finish! It's the kind of specimens that explains how this wood earned its name!
I don't often get top grade examples of petrified wood from Arizona and what I do see is usually table top size and not very easy for a collector to display.  This particular log is an exception to both rules.  I didn't find it, but I sure wish I had!  It's one of the most beautifully preserved larger sized petrified wood logs I've seen from that state and deserves a place in your collection as well.  Most of the petrified logs found in this particular area are Araucaria, and the structure in this one is consistent with those.  The cell structure of most of these super old conifer like trees are very difficult to separate just in cross section no matter how well defined they are and this one is no exception.
If you're new to our shop the one thing you should expect is to see an unexpectedly glossy finish on each stone we prepare.  This complete round is a wonderful example of the best lapidary work you'll find. It's been cut with a diamond saw and flat lapped on equipment I built myself to produce a mirror perfect polish unmatched by any of our many would-be imitators. The detail captured and revealed through the highly polished surface is just immaculate. It's easily some of the best fossil wood to be found anywhere! The rings are gorgeous, the agate is highly polished and the detail is easier to see in person than the photo suggests. It's a truly special find and we won't likely have a lot more so get a piece for your collection while it's available!
This is a large, thick slab from the center of the log and measures about 11 7/8" x 8 3/4" across the polished face.  It is cut approx 1/2" thick.  Weight is 4.02 lbs.
A nice, unique natural wonder collectible exclusively from Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary!
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