NATURAL TREASURES

UNIQUE GIFT IDEAS

(Click on Image for Enlargement)

This category contains a selection of items rooted in the mineral or fossil world, but converted to another use or function such as marble dishes, agate bookends, septarian bookends, amethyst bookends, desk sets, paper weights, and stone candle holders.  They are rocks that earn a living, and would be a memorable gift for the person who has almost everything.

CARVED ONYX

MOG-Goblets      MOS-Sherry Cups

These water goblets were carved in Pakistan from locally quarried "Cave" Onyx.  They were turned on a special lathe that cuts stone and stand almost 5" tall.  The material is similar to the calcium carbonate flowstone one sees in cave deposits.  It has a lovely translucency you can see as you raise the goblet in the perfect toast.  Cheers!

RHYOLITE

This is a volcanic rock with about the same composition as granite.  It is quarried and worked in Utah.  The color and the flow lines seen in the rock are natural.  It has been cut, smoothed and in some cases, sandblasted to produce the holes.

RHYBKND3

NATURE'S NATURAL ARTWORK

MKGS1   MKGS2 MKGS3  MKGS4    MKGS6

These are cut slabs and bookends made from a scenic sandstone nicknamed "Kanab Goldenstone", as it is quarried near Kanab, Utah.  It is part of the Cretaceous aged Shinarump formation.  The scenic patterns you see here are completely natural.  They are iron rich bands deposited in the sand by mineral rich ground water over the eons of time underground.

GOLDENSTONE COASTERS

These 3 3/4" coasters are cut from the same naturally scenic Kanab Sandstone as the slabs shown above.  Not only are they fascinating to look at, the are absorbent as well so condensation from the glass does not accumulate on the surface.  They are sold in sets of 4.

ARIZONA SIERRA BOOKENDS

MASBK2

These bookends are cut from the same bed as the "Kanab Goldenstone described above, but from a location just across the border in Arizona.  The natural picturesque brown iron banding takes on a reddish color by heating the stone to an undisclosed temperature, causing it to oxidize.

SEPTARIAN BOOKENDS

MSEPBK6    MSEPBK3  

MSEPBK4    MSEPBK5

These Septarian Nodules were formed about 100 million years ago when the Gulf of Mexico reached what is now Southern Utah. Sea (shell) life, killed by volcanic eruptions settled to the sea bottom.  Tide and wave action rolled these shells in the sticky volcanic mud where the acquired a thick coating of gray mud.  As the oceans receded, these nodules were exposed to the atmosphere where they dried, cracked and shrank.  Later, sea level rose, depositing more sediment on these now rock-hard, cracked, hollow mud bolls or nodules.  Calcite minerals were deposited in the cracks and hollows by sea water slowly percolating into the nodules.  A thin wall of the yellow calcite was altered into brown aragonite, dividing the gray bentonite clay exterior from the yellow calcite center.  From the Latin word for this dividing wall, Septum, the nodules are called "Septarians".

DUGWAY GEODE BOOKENDS

       MDGBK2  MDGBK3  MDGBK5

This is a volcanic "bubble" of reddish brown rhyolite that contained a gas cavity when it cooled and hardened.  Later, the gas cavity became lined with light blue agate and small, clear crystals of quartz.  From Dugway, Utah.  It was cut and polished to make bookends.

SPECULAR HEMATITE

MSHBK1    THIS ITEM SOLD

Specular Hematite is an aggregate of fine grained hematite (iron oxide) and fine grained mica which creates a wonderful light-reflecting display.  They are also heavy, which makes for excellent bookends.  The material is from the Champion Mine, Marquette County, Michigan.  Since this material does not take a good polish, it has been coated with acrylic resin to give it a high luster.

ARIZONA PETRIFIED WOOD BOOKENDS

FPWBK1

These bookends are cut from a slab of colorful petrified wood from Arizona.  This type of wood is nicknamed "Rainbow Petrified Wood" for its display of all the colors of the rainbow.  The species is Araucarioxylon arizonicum.  It lived during the Triassic Period, about 200 million years ago, when dinosaurs began roaming the globe.  It was found in the Chinle Formation of Arizona.

FOSSILIFEROUS MARBLE CARVINGS

        Coke Bottle                Soap Dish                Paper Weights    

      FORTHC02                FORTHD03              FORTHPW-LFT, RT

These items have each been carved and polished from a piece of marble from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.  They include specimens of the ancient, primitive known as Orthoceras scattered throughout the stone.  Orthoceras, now extinct, was a straight-shelled ancestor of the Chambered Nautilus in the class cephalopoda.  It lived 365 million years ago in the Devonian Period.  It had hollow chambers separated by walls called septa.  A tube, called the siphuncle, connected the body with the chambers allowing the animal to fill them with water or air, changing its buoyancy, in order to rise or drop in the ocean.

FOSSILIFEROUS MARBLE CARVING

FORTHAMP2

This marble platter is carved from the Orthoceras marble as above, and has a nice ammonoid on top.  As above, do not place any food item in this that contains vinegar as this is acidic and will etch the marble.  This includes salad, olives and pickles.  This marble is Devonian in age, 365 million years ago and is from Erfoud, Morocco.

GONIATITE SCULPTURE

This is a natural piece of fossiliferous marble containing numerous goniatites.  Goniatites are extinct members of the Ammonoid family, which includes the extinct Ammonites and Seratites.  They are cousins to the modern Nautilus.  These are Devonian in age, 365 million years ago and are from Erfoud, Morocco.

STONE TEA LIGHT CANDLE HOLDERS

    FLUORITE                                ROSE QUARTZ

MFLTL            MRQTL     

The translucent quality of both the Fluorite and the Rose Quartz makes them perfect materials for accentuating the warm glow of candle light.  In a dimly lit room, these candles are sure to create a cozy ambiance.

ARIZONA SIERRA          RHYOLITE                 AMETHYST                SODALITE

   MASTL                             MRYTL                         MAMTL                     MSOTL

For Arizona Sierra Tea Light Holder description, see Arizona Sierra Bookends description above.  The Rhyolite Tea Light Holder is made from a fine grained volcanic rock, Rhyolite, that has a composition very similar to granite.  The Amethyst Tea Light Holder is made from a mid-grade of amethyst (violet quartz) from Brazil.  The Sodalite Tea Light Holder (Sodium-Chlorine-Aluminum Silicate)  is igneous in origin and is from Brazil.

AGATE WIND CHIMES, 7 PIECE

 MAWC7P (Pink), MAWC7B (Blue)  MAWC7T (Teal)   MAWC7N (Natural)

   MAWC7V (Violet)

This spiral of 7 pieces of lovely agates from Brazil will provide you with musical accompaniment on those breezy days.  Total length is about 18 inches.  Agate slabs are about 3-4 inches in diameter.

AGATE WIND CHIMES, 4 PIECE

MAWC4B    MAWC4N

Three Brazilian agate slabs hanging from one agate slab provide you with background music on windy days.  Total length is about 13 inches.  Agate slabs are 2-3 inches in diameter.

AGATE WIND CHIMES, MOON AND STARS

  MAWCMS

Let the moon and stars serenade you on a breezy day with these heat treated, Brazilian agate carved slabs.  Total length is about 18 inches.  Moons and stars are 2-3 inches.

MINI AGATE WIND CHIMES, 7 PIECE

MMAWC7P (Pink)  MMAWC7B (Blue)   MMAWC7N (Natural) MMAWC7V (Violet)

A spiral of 7 mini agate slabs from Brazil will provide you with a clinkle of musical accompaniment on windy days.  Total length is about 12 inches.  Agate slabs are 1-2 inches in diameter.

MALACHITE CARVINGS

 MMCV7 Spirit Bear    MMCV8  MMCV9   MMCV10

MMCV11- Large Bison   MMCV12 Sm Bison       MMCV6-Depression 

  MMCHB1- Hex Box      MMCRB1- Rect Box   

The mineral, malachite, is a carbonate of copper oxide.  The characteristic banding is a result of variations in copper content.  These pieces are "A Grade" quality and are from the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire.  Malachite is a familiar mineral, often used in jewelry, that is well loved.

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