Fossilized Coral

In the Gem Garden we have fun playing with the different colors of our precious and semi precious jewelry. With the days flying by and soon heading into November we have noticed that a lot of our customers have been bee lining over to our neutral/earthy tones case (perfect for fall). This case has beautiful Amber, Smokey quartz, Tigers eye, Pietersite and all kinds of Jaspers and Agates to name a few. Recently, I have been getting a lot of questions about a particular stone or shall I say fossil in this case. Most people want to know what this certain fossil is and where it comes from! 

Well here is the story; the captivating fossil is fossilized coral! Most people think of coral as only being in the red family. However, in this situation the original bright red color has seeped out of the material and has turned into shades of pink, yellow, brown, gray, or black. Also, you can sometimes find pieces with a variety of these colors in a single stone depending on weathering and oxidation and the original mineral content. 

Corals are marine animals with a sac-like body, mouth and skeleton. Their skeleton is what survives when forming into a fossil. We get the fossilized coral from when the corals were buried in sediments as plate movement affected the land surface or when the ocean rose and fell. Pressure and temperature from compaction resulted in the corals becoming rock. Fossilized coral is formed when ancient coral is gradually replaced with agate, which is why the proper name for this stone is agatized fossil coral.

Fossilized coral usually has small flower or firework- like patterns in the stone. This unique feminine pattern is what draws our customers to these pieces along with its easy to match color ranges. Come into the store today and find that special fossil that speaks to you!