LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 January Signature Natural History #5000  / 

48387

OUTSTANDING OPALESCENT AMMONITE

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:17,000.00 USD Estimated At:18,000.00 - 21,000.00 USD
OUTSTANDING OPALESCENT AMMONITE
<B>OUTSTANDING OPALESCENT AMMONITE </B></I><BR> <I>Placenticeras meeki <BR>Cretaceous <BR>Bearpaw Formation, Southern Alberta, Canada </B></I><BR>A dazzling example of these highly sought-after specimens, this extremely bright, colorful ammonite displays broad flashes of fiery reds, greens and orange as well as some gold highlights. The ammonite itself measures 13 x 10 ¾ inches and is exposed on one side from the 27½ x 22 inch natural dark-gray shale matrix which provides the perfect background to highlight the dramatic aesthetic contrast of the fossil. The shimmering opalescent colors were naturally created through the combination of millions of years of compression and the mineralization of iron, copper and silica which precipitated from volcanic ash; the resulting gemstone is known as Ammolite, and can be found only in this locality in southern Alberta (the Blackpaw Indians know it as <I>aapoak</B></I> - "small crawling stone"). Unlike other gemstones, whose brilliance is caused by light reflected from the surface, the shimmering and ever-changing colors of ammolite are the result of light refracting through and rebounding from thin platelets of aragonite, the primary constituent of the ammonite's shell. <BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Requires 3rd Party Shipping (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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