What is an Ammonite?

Each February Alisha and I fly to Tucson to attend the Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show.  The show covers much of Tucson and two sets of eyes are an asset. We have our synced shopping lists and we start each day early and don’t quit until the shows close. We are a great team and make the shopping fun!

In 2015, after scouring the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show,  Alisha returned to her Santa Cruz, California studio with a variety of Ammonite Fossils. She was inspired to design Ammonite Nautilus Jewelry. Since then her Ammonite Pendant has been well received and each year we return to Tucson in  search of Ammonites suitable for her Nautilus Jewelry designs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although it is easy to imagine that today’s Nautilus descended from the Ammonite, the extinct marine Ammonite was more closely related to the octopus, squid and cuttlefish than the nautilus. Ammonites belonged of the class Cephalopoda and first appeared during the Devonian age. They lived in schools, were prolific breeders  and evolved in all parts of our oceans and over a vast expanse of geological time. They are one of the most abundant fossil found today and  are of value and interest in the scientific dating of other fossils.

Their spiral shape shells are beautiful and the species evolved over millenniums. Depending on ocean sediments and aquatic chemistry the fossilization process creates varied results. There are Ammonites with intricate jade patters; opalized, spiky, rainbow, red flash and pyritized Ammonites. There are literally thousands of Ammonite fossils to pick from but choosing  pristine specimens that are suitable in size is both a challenging and exciting treasure hunt. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps the most stunning Ammonite Fossils are the large Ammonites from Canada. The Canadian find has been trademarked as “Ammolite” and pieces of the opalized rainbow shell are often cut and polished into smaller cabochons that are suitable for jewelry. Canadian Ammolites are opalized Ammonites. They are stunning but we have yet to find a small complete fossil suitable for Alisha’s Nautilus pendant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last year Alisha found several Pyritized Ammonites suitable for her Nautilus Pendant and was on the search for them again this year. The fossilized Ammonite shell has been replaced with pyrite, an iron sulfide and good specimens are rare.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pink Rainbow Ammonite (below left) was a great find this year. The shell is heavily ridged and has a small pyrite cluster in the center. Realize that the majority of these fossils are 240 million years old and are seldom pristine but each specimen is uniquely beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below are some examples of the jade pattern ammonite fossils. The intricate pattern of the shell is especially beautiful and Alisha has chosen to set one of these in 14K gold accented with a bezel set chrome tourmaline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last year, Alisha purchased her first Timor Ammonite.. She found several more at this years Tucson Fossil show.  We have found just a couple of  vendors who offer these unusual specimens and they are usually quite large and unsuitable for jewelry. Timor is an remote island at the eastern most tip of the Indonesian archipelago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a successful buying trip this year and I always look forward to this business trip with Alisha and John.

Alisha spotted a booth selling plush ammonites and plush trilobite fossils and here is the unrehearsed video that I took of her.