Description

This fabulous bear is carved from an ammolite that has been cut in half. Todd positioned the carving to enhance the fossil on one side and to spotlight the beautiful iridescent colors of the ammolite on the other. The bear’s eyes are inlaid with turquoise.

Ammonite is a fossilized Nautilus shell. (Nautiloids are a diverse group of marine cephalopods which flourished in the Late Cambrian period; they were predatory animals and developed an extraordinary diversity of shell shapes and forms. Today we generally call them know Nautilus.)

The opalized outer coating is what makes this Nautilus fossil an ammolite. It is an opal-like organic gemstone found primarily along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains of North America. It is made of the fossilized shells of ammonites. It is one of few biogenic gemstones; the others are amber and pearl. In 1981, ammolite was given official gemstone status by the World Jewelry Confederation, the same year commercial mining of ammolite began.

Condition: Excellent- Original condition – new
Provenance: Purchased from the artist.