SiS: CLOVER GREEN & BLACK African Petrified Wood Slab - Woodworthia - ULTRA - RARE
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:44327198 |
This slab represents the best and closest to perfect round that this log produced - there won't be one better from the log, I promise!OK Folks, Here it is!! Our most anticipated and best find in Tucson in 2009 was a follow-up to the single most brilliantly colored petrified Woodworthia I've ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on! The new material that showed up in only a tiny parcel was reportedly found not far from the now famous red and green log. ...; This one however is gem grade brilliant green! The center field is dark, gemmy wood and blue agate veins pierce through both color zones! We managed to get in early enough that year to get the pick of the lot. We took all of the flawless pieces the importer had and have been cutting and reworking the pieces in our shop since. And of course you know if we're offering it that we've already polished it to a mirror perfect finish to bring all the wood structure and color to life! This gorgeous specimen is both very colorful and has very well defined microscopic wood structure. This richly patterned and colored round is polished with our trademark finish - it looks like it's wet and the color is much better in person than in the photo! These are true museum pieces and according to the fellow that found it there won't be any more coming in. Read on to learn more about this amazing find! This winter we were so busy we almost didn't make the Tucson show. At the last minute my friend Joe (the fellow many of you saw me work with in the Cash & Treasures TV episode on petrified wood) talked me into joining him and let me flop in his trailer in a Tucson RV park. It was a fateful last minute decision that put me in town late the night before the shows opened. It's always a hard call to figure out where to go first on opening day, but I got lucky and headed for my favorite importer from Zimbabwe. When I walked in the room I was instantly stunned to see a small display of unbelievably colorful Zimbabwe petrified wood rounds. The shockingly rich green colors dominated, but there were innumerable other shades in each one. There were a couple of dozen choice pieces on a table of maybe 25-30 short log sections, all with the classically bad imported finish of course. I had never seen anything like it and decided that I'd better claim them fast as the early birds began pouring into the room. I picked out ever decent section I could cut and refinish to produce a mix of rounds and heel cuts from the short log sections. I finally cornered the owner and asked "how much"? I was literally rocked by the price. I'd never come close to paying so much for such small pieces. He explained that this was the only log produced in a freak event, recovered 15 feet deep in the course of digging a well. It was pure chance that the fellow who ran into the log ran into my importer friend or it would probably have been tumbled or sold as tourist trinkets. He's certain there will be no further deep pit excavating going on where the log was found and that what he had is all there will be of this incredibly colorful Woodworthia. I wanted to try to negotiate a volume purchase discount, but by the time I'd managed to coral the owner there were several people asking if I was really going to take all of them and asking about the prices and I knew I had no negotiating power at all. He knew what he had was unique and none of us would likely ever see it again. I jumped in and took the lot. Despite the insanely high cost, I didn't really have to think twice about it. I've been collecting for over 20 years now and I knew what I was looking at was truly special! It turns out it's even more special than I'd realized. Later in the trip I ran into my favorite petrified wood identification expert who examined one and said the structure of the rays was different (smaller) than most Woodworthia. There was no doubt that it was woodworthia (the abundant spine scars in the rich green rind were unmistakable, as were the scalloped wood grain and spike knot pattern) but it appears that it's a different variety than the "army green" ones we've all become familiar with over the years. The following year I met with him again and this time he had found a new log that wasn't quite as expensive, but still spendy for the size. I've grown more comfortable over the years that a rare, gorgeous stone is going to sell for what the finder wants in many cases and that if I liked it, I was better off worrying about how to get the best polish than what it costs. This piece falls into that category. I'm keeping one in my own collection and slowly reworking the others to share with fellow collectors.This wood is quite unique and really a much more interesting fossil than most of the woodworthia we get here in the US. Zimbabwe, Africa, has been producing some fine petrified wood specimens for years. The wood is typically green, brown and black and exceptionally well preserved on the exterior. The interior preservation and micro-structure in these slabs is the best I've ever seen. Each piece I selected shows beautiful growth rings and spike knots leading up to the spine bases that coat the exterior of the logs. In this case the amazing color is simply beyond words and must be seen in person to really appreciate it. This log is very highly agatized and once properly reworked in our shop it took a magnificent wet looking polish! Many have little fortification agate patterns right in the gemmy fossil face - it's just breathtaking! If the timeless mystery of this piece isn't enough for you, then I'm certain the colorful, natural, gemmy beauty of it will be. The colors are intense and unmatched by any location I've ever seen, and the wood grain is unique to this exotic species. This round is cut from the center of a very solid log. It's really a nice piece, but what else would you expect from a business named "Sticks-in-Stones"?! We've applied all of our considerable lapidary skills to bring out a mirror finish and produce a specimen worthy of display in your own collection. You can also make out some of the spine scars on the edge of the slice. This piece measures about 4 1/4" x 3 3/8" across the polished face and is cut about 0.3" thick. Weight is 0.30 lbs. Stands sold separately. Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary is happily providing UPS shipping to greatly reduce shipping charges on large rock orders. We will combine all of your purchases from our shop to bring you the greatest possible value in fine Lapidary & stone collectibles!
