Opal Limb Cast

Item Description

A good representative specimen from the Virgin Valley in northern Nevada, one of the premier Opal localities in the United States. Not only does this area produce beautiful brilliant multicolor Opal gems, but Virgin Valley also has the distinction of producing petrified wood specimens which are replaced / pseudomorphed by Opal. This is a classic piece of this famous material featuring a notably well-preserved form of the tree limb replaced by translucent Precious Opal showing a pearlescent quality on the surface in reflected light. This material is nearly impossible to obtain these days, and is very worthwhile for collectors because it's not just a mineral specimen, nor a gem specimen nor a fossil, but a combination of all three. Specimen weight is 43.08 grams.
PLEASE NOTE: We shot the video for this specimen while it was "wet" (hydrated), which helps to show the translucency better, and if the piece is not stored in a moist environment, it will dehydrate and become less translucent. Please keep this in mind when bidding.