Noreena Jasper Collector Grade Cabochon - 45.6 carats

38 mm x 23 mm

Pilbara Craton, Western Australia

This cabochon was cut from a piece of the Noreena Jasper, an iron-rich sedimendary rock sourced from the Pilbara Craton - some of Earth's oldest continental crust! Over time, exposure to heat and pressure due to tectonic forces squeezed all those sediments together into this silicified mudstone.

These rocks formed in the Archean, over 2 billion years ago (!!!), and have since been fractured, mineralized, and weathered to produce the bold angular patterns that makes Noreena Jasper so distinctive.

This cabochon highlights that chaotic history: intersecting veins and splashes of red and ochre contrast against the paler colored material giving an impression of chaos and huge timescales compressed into a tiny space.

Weight: 45.6 carats

Dimensions: 38 mm x 23 mm

Finish: High polish

Back: Flat, unpolished

Material: Untreated, natural stone

Carefully cut and polished by hand in my workshop.