Inside A Rock! Stunning Images Of Ocean Jasper Macro To Micro
These micro and macro photography shots depict a gemstone, a variety of Jasper called Ocean Jasper, found only in Madagascar. Scientifically speaking its origin hasn’t been investigated extensively, so that the way it acquired its beauty and its peculiar features – starting from a quite ordinary volcanic rock – is far from being known. Ocean Jasper has become fairly collectible gemstones for lapidary, as its mines are either out of production or located below sea level.
Like other Jaspers, this beautiful rock is characterized by the presence of spherical aggregates a few mm in diameter (normally 1 to 3) that are called spherulites or “orbs.” These microstructures formed during the alteration of former tuffs or rhyolites, accompanied by extensive deposition of SiO2 (silicification). The cool photos in this article are taken under a polarizing transmitted microscope – the interment used by geologists to study rocks – using thin slices of rock (30 micrometers thin). The subjects range in size from 0.5 to 5 mm.
I knew that this beautiful stone is very photogenic, and have long searched for some affordable samples. One night I saw a necklace in a market stall, and I bought it. My wife thought it was a present for her, but instead, I cut the beads and had thin sections prepared for microphotography. Under the microscope Ocean Jasper is fantastic! It contains a microscopic garden of spherulites of quartz in a fine-grained silica matrix (chalcedony). These spherulites resemble flowers: sunflowers, asters, daisies. In places, some coarser crystals form “rosettes” in a lawn of fibrous quartz.
Enjoy!
More info: microckscopica.org
Gorgeous 15 cm in height solid block of Ocean Jasper
Kindly provided by Stefano Avesani
Micro vs. Macro
Macro shot with details of spherulitic “orbs”
Macro shot of the surface of a sample of Ocean Jasper showing the variety of colors and textures of spherulites
Colors of polarization
Polarized light photomicrograph of a thin section of Ocean Jasper showing the details of one spherulite consisting of fibrous microcrystalline quartz (Chalcedony)
Macro shot with details of spherulitic “orbs”
Macro shot of the surface of a sample of Ocean Jasper showing the variety of colors and textures of spherulites
Microscopic geometries
Polarized light photomicrograph of a thin section of Ocean Jasper showing two spherulites consisting of fibrous microcrystalline quartz (Chalcedony)
Macro shot with details of spherulitic “orbs”
Macro shot of the surface of a sample of Ocean Jasper showing the variety of colors and textures of spherulites
The Sunflower! One of my best photomicrographs.
Polarized light photomicrograph of a thin section of Ocean Jasper showing one spherulite consisting of fibrous microcrystalline quartz (Chalcedony)
Kaleidoscopic crystals
Polarized light photomicrograph of a thin section of Ocean Jasper showing two touching spherulites made of fibrous microcrystalline quartz (Chalcedony)
A garden of microcrystalline quartz
One of my favorite images: an aggregate of spherulites recalling flowers in a lawn.
“Rosettes” of quartz in an Ocean Jasper
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These rival any art ive seen! You need to sell them! Id hang them all over my home!
Why are the interference colors so high for quartz? Did you have a really thick thin section?
where can that type of jasper be found? said Ocean jasper, where? in what Ocean?
Beeeautiful! Mother nature at work. Thanks for getting up close and personal.
These rival any art ive seen! You need to sell them! Id hang them all over my home!
Why are the interference colors so high for quartz? Did you have a really thick thin section?
where can that type of jasper be found? said Ocean jasper, where? in what Ocean?
Beeeautiful! Mother nature at work. Thanks for getting up close and personal.
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