SUPERB PRECIOUS GEM AMMONITE. ...

Description

SUPERB PRECIOUS GEM AMMONITE
Placenticeras intercalare
Upper Cretaceous
Bearpaw Formation, Alberta, Canada
Gem ammonites are amongst the most sought-after of all fossils, and presented here is a superb example. Not only does it display vibrant color across the full extent of both sides - fiery red, flashing green, glittering gold - but one face boasts in addition large patches of the much rarer blue and purple shades, a rainbow spectrum characteristic of only the most desirable examples. These beautiful iridescent colors were created naturally by the mineralization of iron, copper and silica which precipitated from the bentonite sediment of volcanic ash, subjected to millions of years of compression. It is only in the small Bearpaw formation, stretching over parts of Montana, Alberta and Saskatchewan along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, that the nacreous lining common to the shell of all ammonites is preserved with traces elements such as manganese, strontium, titanium, barium and others, producing the dazzling colors displayed here. The resulting gemstone is called ammolite, although it is known to the Káínawa, or Blood Tribe, of southern Alberta as aapoak ("small, crawling stone") and to the Blackfeet Indians of Montana as iniskim ("buffalo stone") and has long been believed to have amuletic powers of use in healing and in attracting buffalo. Practitioners of feng shui and crystal metaphysics value it as the Kirin stone, or seven color prosperity stone, and believe it to be useful in detoxifying the body and promoting energy flow and prosperity. A superb example, entirely freed from its matrix, this specimen measures 18 3/8 inches in diameter.

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