Our Latest Amazing Find

One of the things that makes working with rocks so interesting is that you never know what you are going to find and what it will look like when you have finished it.
Last year, we found a small rock on the beach across from our house. I finally got around to sorting the material and decided that I would work this rock right away.
I started to grind one side and right away I saw an organic pattern. I continued to grind and polish and ended up with something pretty spectacular. The stone was now only about 1 cm thick and I had to decide if I would just grind the back down or try to cut it. I took a chance and cut it and managed to end up with two spectacular slabs.

The larger stone is about 4.7 cm x 4 cm x 0.4 cm thick.
Sorry for the quality of the shots. They are a little out of focus but in person they are extraordinarily clear and sharply defined but now the big question is- what is it?
I'm pretty sure I know.
A lot of the sedimentary rock in this area is from the carboniferous period that lasted between 360 and 300 million years ago. At that time, there was a plant that looked like a palm tree but was a conifer and had cones like the pine cones you might find today. This is a cross section of a part of one of those cones! The organic material has been replaced by silicate but you can still see a lot of structure- especially on the outside. This is one of those pieces that you want to leave rough on the outside because it is as interesting as the polished part.
Vickie is going to wire wrap one in silver and use a silver chain. The other will be done less expensively.
The person wearing it will be wearing something that started its existence over 300 million years ago
Pretty cool, huh?
I have a lot of really nice stone to work so if you are going to be in the area, stop by and see what's going on. You might even take home a piece of The Neck!