characterized as they are by their reddish and blue hues and
striking parallel banding. Small and delicate as they can be, they
are often applied as cabochons or other trinkets in jewelry.
Actual size 30 x 40 mm.
The slender profile of a Hindu dancer
could be perceived in the elegantly curved bands of light and
dark chalcedony in this agate from India. Actual size 40 x 50
mm.
The images created by the precipitation
of chalcedony and quartz inside geodes are infinitely imaginative.ln this slice, about the size of a prayer card, one might see
a rendering of the adoration of the HolyVirgin.
o
Dendrite crystals look like trees or branches.
They are usually iron or manganese oxide that has precipitated
from aqueous solutions inside narrow fractures in a rock, in
this case inside chalcedony. The 'trees' in this winter landscape
are about 7 mm. tall.
Jules Verne's infamous hero
and his ill-fated crew may well have perceived scenes like this
when their submarine, the 'Nautilus', ascended to the surface
by way of a secretive cave, in between one of those prolonged
journeys in the deeps of the ocean. The picture is taken with
transmitted light through a slice of agate, cut from a geode with
an actual width of about 120 mm.
P
Could that disputed Mesozoic creature, halfdinosaur, half-bird, have looked somewhat like this effigy, diving
headlong for it's prey? This is a sliver of manganese oxide inside
a matrix of chalcedony. Actual size 45 x 60 mm.
This strange and alien figure was created inside
milky white chalcedony by theprecipitation of manganese
oxide. Actual size 40 x SO mm.
81
striking parallel banding. Small and delicate as they can be, they
are often applied as cabochons or other trinkets in jewelry.
Actual size 30 x 40 mm.
The slender profile of a Hindu dancer
could be perceived in the elegantly curved bands of light and
dark chalcedony in this agate from India. Actual size 40 x 50
mm.
The images created by the precipitation
of chalcedony and quartz inside geodes are infinitely imaginative.ln this slice, about the size of a prayer card, one might see
a rendering of the adoration of the HolyVirgin.
o
Dendrite crystals look like trees or branches.
They are usually iron or manganese oxide that has precipitated
from aqueous solutions inside narrow fractures in a rock, in
this case inside chalcedony. The 'trees' in this winter landscape
are about 7 mm. tall.
Jules Verne's infamous hero
and his ill-fated crew may well have perceived scenes like this
when their submarine, the 'Nautilus', ascended to the surface
by way of a secretive cave, in between one of those prolonged
journeys in the deeps of the ocean. The picture is taken with
transmitted light through a slice of agate, cut from a geode with
an actual width of about 120 mm.
P
Could that disputed Mesozoic creature, halfdinosaur, half-bird, have looked somewhat like this effigy, diving
headlong for it's prey? This is a sliver of manganese oxide inside
a matrix of chalcedony. Actual size 45 x 60 mm.
This strange and alien figure was created inside
milky white chalcedony by theprecipitation of manganese
oxide. Actual size 40 x SO mm.
81