Components

*Ocean Jasper cabochons cut by Gary Wilson
*Freshwater pearls (including faceted and Chinese keshi)
*Sterling settings, beads, findings
*Sterling earrings have 14kt gold posts
*Necklace is signed, numbered, dated

Length: 16" - 21" (41cm - 53cm) Shown on model at shortest length
Centerpiece square: 1 1/8" square (3cm)
Drop below square: 2 3/4" (7cm)
Weight: 3.7 oz (106 gm)

Earring length: 1 1/8" (3cm)
Earring weight: 5.6 gm ea (a nickel weighs about 5 gm)

Item #715 - SOLD

Ocean Jasper Necklace and Earrings

Ocean Jasper Necklace
Ocean Jasper Necklace Detail
Ocean Jasper Necklace Back
Ocean Jasper Necklace on model
Ocean Jasper Earrings
Ocean Jasper Necklace
Hover to zoom, Click to expand

Ocean Jasper is from a site in Madagascar which is underwater except at low tide. We discussed the thrilling story of its discovery here. The stones in this set exhibit greens, blue greens, yellows and golds so they pop on spring and summer yellows and blend with fall colors as well.

Since this is Ocean Jasper, I put a fish on the back of the pendant. It made sense to choose a fish endemic to Madagascar, so I searched and found a list of those species. Of the entire list, I could find photos of only two. Unfortunately both looked rather more like tapeworms than fish so I settled on a fat little sunfish instead. Say, marine biologists: we need some photos or drawings of Madagascar endemics!

It has been interesting to watch the argument about what Ocean Jasper is develop. One stumbling block is that green is relatively uncommon in agates. In 2009 Ron Gibbs called it the "reigning king of orbicular 'jaspers'" putting jasper in quotes and noting that the higher grades are agate, not jasper. In 2010 Karen Brzys showed a fascinating piece of Ocean which "is opaque and is technically classified as jasper. However it certainly has some agate-like banding." She also shows another example which has a band of Chrysoprase running through it! In Agates III Zenz has given up on the whole Jasper thing, saying that Ocean Jasper is not jasper at all. The mineralogically correct term would be "spherulitic chalcedony," a name which he says "most likely would not boost the sales among regular buyers or laymen." You can go back to Agates where he details the argument about whether it is Spherulitic or Spherical Chalcedony, you might find that interesting... or not. I was interested in his observation that within a stone, all the spheres are actually the same size. A slice of the stone appears to have different-sized circles because of the varying depths of the spheres within the whole.

The Book of Stones lists Ocean separately, not with the jaspers. Simmons calls it a stone of joy and high spirits, whereas his coauthor Ahsian says it is a soothing, centering stone. Usually the two agree a little more closely! Both speak of it as dispersing negativity and otherwise seem to agree. I wonder if the "high spirits" and "calming" are felt perhaps in the different color variations of the stone? My Ocean Heart necklace with its predominantly pink colors definitely felt brighter than the calming stones in this set.

Dorion Sagan's creation myth in Within the Stone mentions Ocean Jasper's "cross-sections of the infinite." Diane Ackerman speaks of its "streaming milt of stars." Philip Ball starts his creation recipe with the list of ingredients. The first: "An alternating-gradient synchrotron." And Tyler Volk says, "We are in an ancestral cave in Australia. We are dreaming. In our paintings, colorful polka dots float..." Perhaps you will write your own creation myth for the stone which might even include the chubby sunfish. Please order the set and see what arises for you in Dreaming.