What is a Thunder Egg?

Wikipedia says, "A thunderegg (or thunder egg) is a nodule-like geological structure, similar to a geode, that is formed within a rhyolitic lava flow."

Appearance & Composition

Thundereggs are rough spheres, most about the size of a baseball – though they can range from less than an inch to over a meter across. They usually contain centers of chalcedony in the form of agate, jasper or opal, either uniquely or in combination. Also frequently encountered are quartz and selenite crystals, as well as various other mineral growths and inclusions. Thundereggs usually look like ordinary rocks on the outside, but slicing them in half and polishing them may reveal intricate patterns and colors. A characteristic feature of thundereggs is that (like other agates) the individual beds they come from can vary in appearance, though they can maintain a certain specific identity within them.

Agatized Dinosaur Bone or "dino bone" is the result of fossilized bone from dinosaurs in which the cellular structure has been replaced with quartz, leaving the bone structure intact. The resulting stone is a 7 on the Mohs scale.

Many excellent specimens of dinosaur bone are found in and around the American southwest. Dinosaur bone ranges in color from brown to black with splotches of red, blue and bright yellow. Dark yellow-gold and red dinosaur bone is also found, but is more rare. The coloring of the specimen is due to impurities that were in the surrounding sediment.

What is an Agate?

Agate is a microcrystalline variety of quartz (silica), chiefly chalcedony, characterised by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks but can be common in certain metamorphic rocks.

The word Agate comes from the Greek name for a stone originally found in the Achates River in Sicily (currently known as Drillo River). Agate has been found with the remains of Stone Age man in France from as early as 20,000-16,000 B.C. and the Egyptians used agates prior to 3000 B.C. for talismans, amulets, seals, rings and vessels. Early civilizations used eye beads to protect them from evil and bring good luck. They created eye beads by carving a hole through an agate disc.

Brief History

Apache tears are a kind of nodular obsidian (volcanic black glass). When polished, it is opaque to nearly translucent. The color ranges from red to brown to black.

Apache tears have rounded forms (0.5 to 5 cm). They are often found embedded in a greyish-white perlite matrix.

The name Apache tear stems from a legend regarding the Apache tribe. In retaliation for raiding an Arizona settlement, the U.S. military trailed the offending band of about 75 Apache warriors and launched a surprise attack against them. Nearly 50 died in the first volley of shots, and the rest leapt over a cliff rather than allow themselves to be killed. The Apache tear stones are supposedly the tears that their wives and families shed for them.

New Find out of Mexico!

This new specimen has been said to be found out of northern Mexico region and has a beautiful bright red, green and black colors forming a vibrant and natural design. This popular find has been seen cabbed by cutters in Tucson, AZ at this years rock shows and most seemed to be priced in the dollar a ct range.

A Brief History

Turquoise, the robin’s egg blue gemstone worn by Pharaohs and Aztec Kings, is probably one of the oldest gemstones known. Yet, only its prized blue color, a color so distinctive that its name is used to describe any color that resembles it, results in its being used as a gemstone. Turquoise has been, since about 200 B.C., extensively used by both southwestern U.S. Native Americans and by many of the Indian tribes in Mexico. The Native American Jewelry or "Indian style" jewelry with turquoise mounted in or with silver is relatively new. Some believe this style of Jewelry was unknown prior to about 1880, when a white trader persuaded a Navajo craftsman to make turquoise and silver jewelry using coin silver. Prior to this time, the Native Americans had made solid turquoise beads, carvings, and inlaid mosaics. Recently, turquoise has found wide acceptance among people of all walks of life and from many different ethnic groups.

Ocean Jasper is a great natural rock from Madagascar this natural rock has various patterns, but they are all beautiful! There are birds eye’s, scenic patterns, geodes, crystals, and a great variety of colors. We have some wonderful pieces and some are listed here at our Ocean Jasper page. We have rough, cabochons and jewelry all hand made and handcrafted jewelry and designer cabs.

Formation of quartz stone
Agate, a type of quartz whose iridescent patterns sparkle with color, has long been valued as a semiprecious stone. Now, scientists can explain how its elegant swirls form.

Peter J. Heaney, a geologist at Princeton University, and Andrew M. Davis, a geological chemist at the University of Chicago, show that concentric shells of fine and coarse crystals alternate to create agate’s light-diffracting "iris" bands.

Agate, formed when mineral-rich water flows through volcanic rock, consists of millions of micrometer-sized crystals. Those crystals, the researchers observe in the Sept. 15 Science, come in different sizes and contain varying degrees of impurities, caused by changes in the water’s mineral concentrations.