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Description
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Peanut wood cab ~
Offered here is a large cabochon of rare petrified peanut wood, also known as teredo wood. This ancient fossil tree material is of the Araucaria species, found in the Kennedy Ranges of Western Australia. I'm told it's becoming more scarce by the day, resulting in a drastic decline in production to almost nothing in recent years. This cab was cut from a small horde I've had tucked away for awhile. The circular ivory white and burnt yellow spots are actually part of a network of holes bored in the wood of the once-living tree by teredo mollusks, aka shipworms. Over millennia, those burrowed holes were filled with radiolarite, an odd form of common opal. I'm especially fond of the gemmy root beer brown areas that show translucence, illustrating that the wormholes are passageways into the depths of the stone. This example also retained some of the tree's original ring pattern, and happily, it has no cracks or other flaws that I can find. Peanut wood certainly cuts unusual, high contrast cabs, and this one's sure to be an interesting attraction in your jewelry or your pet wood collection! The cab has a well rounded dome of 9mm, and a slick glassy polish both front and back.
Size: 42x25mm
Weight: approximately 84 carats
Price: SOLD See current gemstones for sale
 Peanut wood
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