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Shop for more Obsidian Jewelry on Etsy Thank you for shopping for Obsidian Jewelry! Obsidian healing properties include: grounding, protection, purification. We have scoured Etsy to find the best genuine obsidian jewelry. We look for handcrafted & handmade. Black Obsidian is the stone of truth and as such is a highly useful instrument to use for meditation. The stone holds great benefits that you will observe in very subtle but effective ways. The powers of Black Obsidian are in such abundance that you will find yourself in a process of discovery of the truth when you start meditating with this stone.
Oregon is a leading state for gemstone production with sunstone, thundereggs, opal and more.
Author: Hobart M. King, PhD, GIA Graduate Gemologist
Two specimens of Oregon Sunstone: The specimen on the left is a round cabochon weighing 2.29 carats and about 7mm in diameter. It is a stone that is heavily included with visible platelets of copper. Those platelets are what reflect light to produce sunstone's aventurescent effect. The specimen on the right is a clean faceted stone weighing 1.01 carat and 7mm x 5mm in size. It is an oval-shaped stone with a strong orange color.
A Diversity of Gems
Oregon is one of the nation's leading states for the production of gemstones. These gemstones are mostly a result of the state's long volcanic history.
Oregon's famous sunstone is produced from basalt flows, thundereggs are formed in rhyolite, and the silica that produced much of Oregon's opal, agate, and jasper was dissolved from volcanic rocks by hot groundwater.
In the sections below we feature Oregon sunstone, thundereggs, opal, and the chalcedony gems of agate and jasper. Oregon has many other gems, which include obsidian, garnet, jade, steatite, wonderstone, and many varieties of petrified wood.
Table of Contents
| Oregon Sunstone Thundereggs Obsidian Opal: Precious, Fire, and Common Oregon Agates and Jasper Oregon Petrified Wood Diamonds From Oregon? |
Oregon Sunstone
Oregon produces some of the best gem-quality feldspar in the world. The name 'Oregon Sunstone' is used for gem-quality feldspars from Oregon, with and without aventurescence. They can be found in colors that range from clear through yellow, orange, pink, red, green, and blue. Multiple colors are often found in the same crystal, making bicolor and tricolor stones possible.
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Some specimens of Oregon Sunstone contain microscopic copper platelets suspended throughout the material. These platelets are often in alignment within the stone, and light entering the stone at the proper angle will simultaneously reflect from them. When these stones are played in the light, bright copper-colored flashes are produced as the stone passes through the angle of reflection. Flashes can also be observed by moving the light source or changing the angle of observation. This interaction with light produces the phenomenon known as aventurescence.
Sunstone is cut into faceted stones and cabochons. Material with platelets is usually cut to produce flashes of light when the stone is viewed in the face-up orientation. To do this, the copper platelets should be parallel to the top and bottom of the stone. Quality material cut by a skilled artisan is so attractive that the State Legislature named Oregon Sunstone the state's official gemstone.
The sunstones are found as phenocrysts in a small number of basalt flows. This makes production a labor-intensive job. They can be screened by hand from soils which have developed above the basalts. Hard-rock mining of the basalt is sometimes done, but it is less successful because the feldspar cleaves easily and breaks during extraction.
Oregon Thundereggs: Examples of thundereggs sawn to display their interior. The top two are halves of a single egg about three inches in diameter. It is filled with gray chalcedony with gray agate and drusy quartz in the center. The bottom is a half egg about six inches in diameter with gray banded agate around the outside, white agate towards the center, and a drusy quartz cavity in the center.
Thundereggs
The most popular rock in Oregon is said to be the 'thunderegg.' Thundereggs are 'nodules' or 'geodes' that form when agate, chalcedony, or opal precipitate within the cavities of rhyolite, welded tuff, or perlite. Thundereggs can be ugly on the outside; however, when they are cut or broken open, a treasure of colorful gem material and crystals is often revealed. Thundereggs range in size from less than one inch to over three feet in diameter.
The mystery of breaking or sawing thundereggs to see what is inside is a large part of what makes them so popular. They frequently contain layered or fortification patterns of colorful agate, sometimes with a drusy quartz-lined inner cavity. Other specimens contain clear to milky or mossy chalcedony.
Types of Obsidian: The specimens shown above are from Glass Butte rockhounding site in central Oregon. It shows the diversity of obsidian types that can be found in a small geographic area. Clockwise from upper left are: double flow obsidian, rainbow obsidian, black obsidian, pumpkin obsidian, mahogany obsidian, gold sheen obsidian, and the piece in the center is gold sheen. The nice photo above is from the Glass Butte Rockhounding Site page on the Deschutes National Forest website.
Obsidian
Oregon has one of the best places on this planet for finding obsidian, a volcanic glass and a mineraloid that is usually black in color. The location is Glass Butte and Little Glass Butte and surrounding areas in central Oregon. There, about 4.9 million years ago, volcanic domes and rhyolite flows produced some of the most spectacular obsidian varieties that you will find anywhere (see photo).
If you go there you will certainly find the typical black obsidian. You also have a chance to find exotic varieties like gold sheen (an aventurescent obsidian), rainbow (an iridescent obsidian), mahogany (a black and brown swirled obsidian), pumpkin (an orangey variety), and double flow (a black and orangey material swirled together). For collecting details see the Deschutes National Forest website.
Fire Opal: A faceted orange fire opal from Oregon. This stone weighs 1.17 carats and is 9mm x 7mm in size. Fire opal in a range of colors from yellow through orange and red is produced from several mines on the eastern side of the Oregon Cascades.
Opal: Precious, Fire, and Common
A number of different types of opal are found in Oregon. An area known as Opal Butte in Morrow County has produced hyalite, hydrophane, crystal, contra luz, fire, common, dendritic, and other varieties of opal. Although some of the opal found there is unstable during cutting, a number of great gemstones are still produced.
A small fraction of Oregon thundereggs are filled with opal, and a smaller fraction of those contain gem-quality material with play-of-color. Some contain a blue opal known as Owyhee Blue that ranges from a blue gray to a brilliant sky blue. Some contain common opal with beautiful scenes and patterns like the cabochon pictured. The hope of finding opal or colorful chalcedony is what drives much of the thunderegg popularity.
Owyhee blue opal: A cabochon cut from blue Owyhee opal mined in the Owyhee Mountains in eastern Oregon, near the Oregon-Idaho border. Some of the opal from this area looks like chalcedony and occurs in a range of pale blue to medium blue colors. This stone is 20 x 11 millimeters in size, weighs 8.05 carats, and has a fantastic powder-blue color.
Picture Opal: This is a spectacular cab cut from the opal center of a thunderegg. If you look closely, you can see the sun rising over a landscape that is underlain by normal faults. This nice cab was cut by Aaron Buell of West Coast Lapidary.
Polka Dot Agate is one of the most interesting agates found anywhere. It is a blue to white to yellow agate with suspended dots of many colors. It was first mined by Native Americans who knapped it to produce sharp tools like blades, scrapers and projectile points. It is still mined today in central Oregon. The mine has been open to the public for fee digging. During those times you can enter the mine, look for agate, and keep what you find for a fee.
| Gem Trails of Oregon is a book detailing 100 places in Oregon where experienced rockhounds have found success. A great resource for planning your next road trip! |
| Oregon Gold, Silver, and Gems Maps are a must-have for treasure hunters! These maps show numerous locations where gems and minerals have been found in Oregon. |
Oregon Agates and Jasper
The volcanic history of Oregon has produced a wide variety of agates and jaspers. Widely known Oregon agates include: Graveyard Point, Priday Ranch, Eagle Rock, Holley Blue, Richardson Ranch and Polka Dot. Widely known Oregon jaspers include: Biggs, Bat Cave, Blue Mountain, Morrisonite, Chicken Track, Deschutes, Spiderman, and Sucker Creek.
Wild Horse Jasper: Two cabochons of Wild Horse Jasper cut from material found in Oregon. The cabochon on the left is 33 x 36 millimeters in size, and the cabochon on the right is 27 x 34 millimeters. Wild Horse often produces cabochons with interesting landscape scenes.
Oregon Beach Agate and Jasper: A beautiful mandala composed of colorful beach agate and jasper pebbles found along Oregon beaches and brought to a bright polish in a rock tumbler. This mandala was created and photographed by Amanda Nachman, who has an Etsy Shop named Oregon Coast Agates.
A popular activity along Pacific coast beaches is hunting agates and jaspers that have been tumbled in the surf. Some of the beaches have names such as 'Agate Beach' that reveal what you might find there.
Rivers draining the volcanic landscape of the western side of the Cascade Mountain Range carry large numbers of agate nodules of various sizes and dump them into the ocean. Then waves pick them up and roll them around in the surf. This action rounds the agates and gives many of them a natural matte finish.
A great time to look for agates is after a large storm, when streams have dumped more agates into the ocean and waves have disturbed the sand to expose agates that have not been found by people. Agates found on Oregon beaches are often nicely rounded and can easily be used to produce nice polished stones in a rock tumbler.
Many beaches are private or government property where removing agates or any other material is forbidden. Be sure to get permission or determine if collecting is allowed before you begin. More Information |
Oregon Petrified Wood: A nice piece of opalized wood from one of Oregon's many petrified wood localities. It has wonderful color, visible wood grain, and has been brought to a nice polish. This specimen measures about three inches across.
Oregon Petrified Wood
Petrified wood is found at many locations in Oregon. Much of this wood has an origin related to eruptions in the Cascades volcanic range. Over millions of years of geologic time, volcanic blasts occasionally knocked down large areas of forest and covered them with volcanic ash. Non-explosive eruptions also repeatedly buried large expanses of forest under thick and extensive volcanic ashfalls.
Over time, rainwater soaked down through the ash and dissolved some of its silica. That silica was carried downward into the soil by the descending waters. It later precipitated as chalcedony or common opal in the cell cavities of the wood. This is the origin of much petrified wood found at many locations in Oregon.
The wood is often colorful and attractive. Petrified wood of high quality can be cut and polished into beautiful cabochons. It can also be used to make bookends, desk sets, jewelry, tumbled stones, and a variety of other lapidary projects. These items make great souvenirs and gifts that support the local economy and spread the story of the ancient forests of Oregon.
Lightbox Advertising: This is one of the early online advertisements promoting the sale of Lightbox Jewelry. It appeared on Geology.com and many other websites in January and February of 2019, before the Lightbox manufacturing facility in Oregon was opened. It clearly communicates that Lightbox will be selling lab-grown diamonds in pink, blue and 'white' colors. We receive no compensation for displaying the ad above, and have no agreements or relationship with LightboxJewelry.com.
Diamonds From Oregon?
In May 2018, De Beers announced their plans to start Lightbox, a stand-alone company that will sell lab-created diamonds in earrings and necklaces. The diamonds will be available in blue, pink, and white colors, in sizes of 0.25, 0.50, and 1 carat. All three colors will be sold for $800 per carat plus the cost of the jewelry mountings. De Beers' initial intent is to focus on the fashion jewelry market. The jewelry will be sold online with possible retail sales in the future.
The announcement shocked the diamond jewelry industry. De Beers is going to sell products that will compete with their mined diamond business at prices that are at least 50% lower per carat than the current going prices for lab-created diamonds. Each diamond over 0.2 carats will be inscribed with the Lightbox logo.
De Beers will invest $94 million to build a production facility near Portland, Oregon, that will start producing about 500,000 carats of rough lab-grown diamonds per year in 2020. The diamonds will be cut and polished by a company in India, with an expected yield of about 200,000 carats of polished diamonds per year.
Who would have expected Oregon to be one of the world's leading synthetic diamond producers?
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We know three main classes of rocks, sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. In Limestone article, we learned how sedimentation occurs, and the formation of sedimentary rocks takes place. Today, we are going to know Obsidian rock, which falls in the main class of igneous rocks.
We know igneous rocks have two basic types:
1. Intrusive Igneous Rocks
When molten lava/magma is cooling slowly below the surface of the earth and forms large crystals in the rocks they known as intrusive igneous rocks. For examples-
| Diorite | Gabbro | Granite |
| Pegmatite | Peridotite |
1 – Extrusive Igneous Rocks
When molten magma is cooling rapidly onto the surface of the earth and forms small crystals in the rocks they known as extrusive igneous rocks. For examples-
| Obsidian | Andesite | Basalt |
| Dacite | Pumice | Rhyolite |
| Scoria | Tuff | Fire Opal |
What Is Obsidian Rock?
If you strive to know the obsidian meaning, go ahead in this section. Obsidian is a class of igneous rocks, which forms when felsic lava extruded from a volcano onto the surface of the earth.
Rainbow Obsidian Etsy
The cooling of lava takes place so rapidly that no chance remains for proper crystallization (Atomic Arrangements) and finds as an amorphous glass material. It has a smooth and uniform texture, which breaks with a conchoidal fracture.
Geological Classification of Obsidian Rocks:
Let’s see the classification of obsidian rocks at the perspectives of a geologist.
| Class: Igneous RocksSub-Class: Medium Hardness Rocks Family-Group: Volcanic Category: Opaque Rocks Alternate Names: Lava, Glassy Lava, Xaga, Royal Agate, Glass Agate, Volcanic Glass, Glass Gem, Guardian Gem, and Black Beauty |
Formation of Obsidian Rocks in Nature
We have seen in the earlier section that obsidian is an extrusive rock type and formation used to takes place on the surface of the earth when magma or lava coming out due to volcanic phenomena and rapid cooling takes place. The obsidian formation can happen in a variety of cooling environment such as
- Along the edges of a flow of magma or lava
- Along the edges of a dome of the volcano
- Along the edges of a sill or dike, which takes place under the surface and it is the only intrusive type
- The point where magma comes into contact with water on the surface
- The point where magma cools due to airborne cooling effects
Natural Stone Pavers Collection | ||
Exotic Collection | Premia Collection | Porcelain Pavers |
Steps Stones | Window Sills | Pool Copings |
Properties of Obsidian
Obsidians have various physical & visual properties, such as Hardness, Grain Size, Fracture, Streak (Colors), Porosity, Luster, and Strength. These all property attributes determine the applications of obsidian rocks. Let’s see some significant properties of obsidians.
Specific Gravity & Density of Obsidian
The density of rock used to expresses as specific gravity, and it is measured in relevance to the density of water in gram per cubic centimeter of the mass. The density of obsidian is 2.55 g/cubic cm. It means it is heavier than water and dense medium as a mass.
Streaks & Colors of ObsidianThe streak of obsidian is white, but various colors occur in nature. Frequently found colors of Obsidian rocks are: The highest occurrence of obsidians is in Black, but it also available in Brown, Green, or Tan. Rarely found colors of Obsidian rocks are: A very rare occurrence of obsidians is in Blue, Orange, Red, and Yellow. The occurrence of color is due to the presence of different trace elements in obsidian rocks. | The hardness of Obsidian (How Hard Is Obsidian Rocks)In physics and geology, the hardness of the physical objects or rocks is measured in Moh’s scale, which rates the objects in question on the scale from 1 to 10.
Based on Moh’s hardness scale, obsidians fall into a medium hard category of rocks because obsidian rocks have 5-5.5 Moh’s hardness scale. It also means obsidian is easy to scratch. |
Compressive Strength of ObsidianWhen a compressive pressure (In Newton unit) applied on the rocks a permanent deformation of rocks takes place at a point of pressure. It is termed as the compressive strength of rocks and obsidians fractured or permanently deformed at 0.15 N per square millimeter. It means obsidian is easy to break and chipped by some impacts. It also renders obsidian as the unfit stone for rings and bracelets like jewelry production. | Porosity of ObsidianIt is a less porous rock, so it has a medium hardness. |
Obsidian FractureObsidians breaks into the conchoidal fracture. Obsidian has no natural or defined planes of separation when a pressure exceeding its physical strength exerts on it. Therefore, smoothly curved fracture takes place on the surface of obsidian glass rock. The images at the side are depicting the phenomena beautifully and precisely. | Luster & Transparency of ObsidianIn Obsidian, only 1% of water exists. It means it is vitreous and due to the high presence of silica and other glass-forming minerals, it is translucent in transparency. |
What Type of Rock Is Obsidian?
Geologically, rocks used to divide into types. Based on the texture of the Obsidian rock types are decided. The main types of Obsidian rocks are as follows:
Obsidian Etymology
| Mahogany Obsidian | When two colors, Black and Brown swirled together in a single obsidian rock, Mahogany Obsidian takes place. |
| Obsidian is kind of glass and chemically unstable. Overtime crystallization process takes place in the mass of rock. If the formation of crystals happens in a radial cluster of white or gray crystals (cristobalite) at different and isolated locations, it referred to as Snowflake obsidian. | Snowflake Obsidian |
| Rainbow Obsidian | Seldom obsidians have an iridescent or metallic “Sheen” thanks to the reflection of light rays. It used to takes place due to minute inclusions of mineral crystals, gas trapped in obsidian, and some debris. It results in a prismatic effect found due to the glass matter of obsidians, and white light rays are fragmenting in the rainbow color spectrum. |
| If metallic sheen reflecting light rays in golden color, the gold sheen obsidians occur. In black obsidian, golden inclusions take place it shines as yellow and honey metals in the mass of obsidian. | Gold Sheen Obsidian |
| Silver Sheen Obsidian | Similarly, if metallic sheen found in silver color, the silver sheen obsidians take place. |
| When tiny bubbles of gas trapped in the rock and resulting in a reflection of purple color, a purple sheen obsidian happens. | Purple Sheen Obsidian |
| Double Flow Obsidian | Sometimes the two different colors exist in the same specimen of the obsidian rock. Moreover, the occurrence of different colors takes place in a pattern of flows, and it is flowing in a different direction, we termed it a double flow obsidian. |
| Black is the most common color found in obsidians. Therefore, the highest occurrence of obsidians found in the black glass. It projects a shiny black hue and popular as a black gemstone in the jewelry industry. | Black Obsidian |
| Pumpkin Obsidian | When obsidian is reflecting mainly pumpkin color in pale brown shades, it called as pumpkin obsidian. It resembles Mahogany obsidians in looks and brown to black and beige bands of colors found in the mass of obsidians. |
| Green-colored obsidians occur seldom and when polished they resemble emerald and used for jewelry purposes. It found in mossy to pickle green color shades. | Green Obsidian |
The occurrence of Obsidian Rocks in Different Geographic Regions of the Earth
Obsidian is falling into a volcanic-group of rocks. Therefore, the occurrence of Obsidian confined to geological areas where volcanic activity happened in the recent past. Obsidian rocks are not expected in volcanic areas of distance past like before billions of years because the glassy rocks are destroying rapidly due to weathering effects and various geological processes.
Obsidian Etsy
Significant deposits of obsidian rocks exist in the following continents of the world.
| Asia: | Afghanistan, Indonesia, Japan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia. |
| Africa: | Kenya. |
| Europe: | Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Scotland, and Turkey. |
| North America: | Canada, Mexico, and the USA. |
| Central America: | El Salvador, Guatemala, and Papua New Guinea. |
| >South America: | Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. |
| Australia: | New Zealand. |
The highest production of jewelry grade obsidians takes place in the United States. However, in the USA, obsidian rocks are not found in eastern regions of the Mississippi River because that area lacks volcanic activities in the recent past at all. The remaining areas of the States of America where obsidian rocks available are:
| Arizona | California | Idaho | Nevada |
| New Mexico | Oregon | Washington | Wyoming |
| Colorado | Texas | Utah |
Obsidian rocks also available in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina.
Obsidian Uses
Now, I am going to acknowledge your use of obsidian. Do you know a conchoidal fracture of a rock resulting in pieces of rocks in curved surfaces?
Obsidian rocks can produce fragments with sharp edges, and sharp fragments of obsidian rocks first used as cutting tools in ancient eras of the civilization of humankind.
Today, a variety of uses found in different industries, such as:
Obsidians as Weapons & Tools:The human civilization has used obsidian rocks to make knives, spear points, arrowheads, scrapers, and various weapons. Knives and blades were fine for kitchen applications. Scrappers were used in land digging, agriculture, and gardening applications. Arrowheads and spear points were provided the sharpest tools for warriors in the creation of various weapons. |
Obsidians in Construction Industry:Obsidian rocks use in interior and exterior decoration. Decorative aggregates, gravels, and pebbles from obsidian rocks are a favorite material for creating architectural beauty and artwork on walls, ceilings, and floors of the buildings. Artworks in gardens, patios, swimming pools, fire features, and water features look amazing when obsidian rocks applied along with other Gemstones. It also used as mirror elements in the decoration of the interior, exterior, and construction of artifacts for various applications in life. |
Obsidians in Medical Surgery:Obsidian rocks are continuously used in the modern era to create cutting-edge surgical tools. Studies have revealed the fact that thin blades for scalpel of obsidians are superior in sharpness and performance than or equivalent to blades created from the latest surgical steel. Do you know household razor blades are 300-600 Angstroms while obsidian can produce blades of 30 Angstroms? It means obsidian can produce the sharpest materials that only Nanotechnologies can produce. If you look at the sharpest edge of the steel blade in the microscope, you will notice almost saw-like teeth on the edge. Whereas, the obsidian blade has no bite because it has an evenly smooth edge at the microscopic level. Therefore, wounds cut by obsidian blades are healing significantly faster than wounds by steel blades. |
Obsidians in Antiquity and Jewelry Industry:Obsidian rocks often cut into beads and cabochons. Mahogany and Snowflakes obsidian types of rocks are providing gemstones for earrings, brooches, and pendants. In the creation of Opal Doublets and Triplets, a thin slice of obsidian is glued as a backing material in the construction of composite gemstones. The black obsidian is an ideal material in making Opals to offer color-contrasting background. However, medium-strength of obsidian with 5.5 hardness creates durability concerns and the jewelry industry avoids its use as they apply diamonds and other gemstones. |
Obsidian Rocks for Sales
If you are curious about obsidian for sale, I would like to describe obsidian rocks for sale in a nutshell here.
Obsidians are delicate rocks for many jewelry applications where the chances of various impacts are high. So, the jewelry industry avoids the high usage of these natural rocks/gems/glasses. It mainly used in delicate jewelry, and the following varieties are popular for commercial usages of obsidians.
The richest market of obsidian for sales is aiming for heal purposes. It is believed that obsidian stones have natural healing capabilities. Therefore, along with described various obsidian types earlier, the following varieties of obsidian products are in demand in the healing gemstone market.
| Apache Tears | Spiderweb | Cat Eye |
| Flame/Fire | Peanut | Midnight Lace |
eBay and Etsy are popular marketplaces to obtain raw obsidians. Various eCommerce jewelry sites are selling ready to use jewelry made from different kinds of obsidian rocks and for a variety of jewelry products. The online marketplaces including Alibaba and others are selling sorted and unsorted rough obsidian natural stones are weighing from 1/4lb to 1-2lbs.
Wrapping It Up
In the series of identifying various rocks and natural stones at World of Stones, USA, we have explored different aspects of obsidian rocks such as meaning, uses, facts, properties, and colors of obsidians.
World of Stones, USA is an excellent place to buy a variety of natural rocks mainly used for exterior applications in the building construction industry. If you are interested to know about rocks and stones, keep reading blogs at World of Stones.