The part of the story we want is not at the top, so scroll down to where this article starts, and you'll be able see the pics of the logs they found the blue opal in and on, they discuss how it forms, and just wait until you see the finished stone! On a scale of 1 to 10, it's got a drool factor of 12 .
Hot Gemstones for 2018: Introducing New Petrified Wood with Blue Opal
January 19, 2018 | Author: Lexi Erickson
" This year’s new surprise stone is stunningly yummy, gemmy and rare–and it has a long name! Petrified Wood with Blue Opal and Native Copper (yes, that’s its official name) is the hot new stone for Tucson this year. Thanks to geologist Joel Ivey for his information and photos of the actual mine and the rough from which these gemstones come, and to Mark Lasater of The Clamshell for the photo of the finished cabochon.
Petrified Wood with Blue Opal was first found as pebbles and larger rounded stones (“cobbles”) in streams and near the slopes of three volcanoes in Indonesia’s West Java Province. The source deposit was finally located on the steep slopes of Mt. Tjikolak a mere 10 months ago. What the miners actually found was an ancient petrified forest (how cool is that?), which had been pushed over by the deluge of “stuff” (pyroclastic flow) from a volcanic explosion. Then, over the ages, the wood was fossilized and preserved by opaline silica. In my mind’s eye, I see all those fallen trees on the slope after the eruption of Mount St. Helens, covered with other layers of the debris of thousands of years in the future. ... "
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