Monday, March 8, 2010

Cherry Creek Jasper

My newest love in gemstones....Cherry Creek Jasper. It's colors and patterns are almost endless. Every piece is unique, inspiring all kinds of design possibilities...




Cherry Creek jasper is metamorphic limestone, Metamorphosis is one of the three ways stones are formed (the other kinds of stones are igneous and sedimentary).




Geologically, a metamorphic stone forms deep in the earth, its essential nature altered by heat and pressure. It may go through metamorphosis more than once, and each time new elements are added to its composition. Only those aspects of the stone which are impermeable to pressure and heat are preserved.







Cherry Creek jasper is 6.0- 7.0 on the Moh's Hardness Scale, and predominantly mined in Utah.
 Of the metamorphic stones, the patterns of Cherry Creek jasper are particularly striking, and one may see them as maps (in whatever natural or polished shape it occurs) of the crystal's transformational path.