{"product_id":"petrified-wood-sphere-polished-red-and-gold-fossil-wood-ball-crystal-gift","title":"Petrified Wood Sphere — Polished Red and Gold Fossil Wood Ball Crystal Gift","description":"\u003cp\u003eA polished sphere of petrified wood, cut so the stone runs gold across the top and deep red below.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe gold cap still shows the grain of the tree it used to be, rings and streaks and a small round knot where a branch once left. Below the join the color drops into a deep plum red, dense and even, with fine pale lines drifting through it like weather. Polished all the way around and it sits on a small clear stand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePetrified wood is exactly what it sounds like. A tree fell, got buried fast enough that it could not rot, and groundwater carrying dissolved silica seeped through it for a very long time. The silica filled the pore spaces and took over the cell walls, using them as a template, which is why the grain survives in such detail.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo what you are holding is silica, the same family as quartz, chalcedony and agate. Only a small fraction of the original organic material is still in there, roughly a tenth, so it is fair to say this is a stone that was once a tree rather than a piece of wood that hardened. The colors come from trace metals that traveled in with the water, iron for the reds and rusts, manganese for the darker plum tones. The gold cap and the red body are the same wood, just different metals in the water when that part of it turned.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow for the fun part. Crystal lore casts petrified wood as the patient one, the stone of deep time, and it is hard to argue given what it actually is. It gets handed to people who are rushing, or who are anxious about how long something is taking, because the whole object is proof that slow is a real way for things to happen. Lore calls it grounding in the plainest sense, the feeling of standing on something that was here long before the week you are having.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt also carries a reputation as a stone of roots and ancestry, of belonging to a lineage, which suits a thing that was a tree and is now a rock and is still recognizably both.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd a sphere is the shape with no beginning and no end, so a sphere cut from ancient wood is a nice joke on time if you like that sort of thing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNice on a desk, a shelf, or a windowsill where the light can pick out the grain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a one of a kind piece. The sphere in the photos is the exact sphere you will receive.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStone, petrified wood, silica after the original tree\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDiameter, 3.39 inches\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeight, 1 lb 14.5 oz\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComes with the small clear display stand shown\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eNatural stone, so the color, the grain and the markings are unique to this piece, and small natural marks are part of what it is.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause natural minerals are delicate and can be damaged by the stress of shipping, we are unable to accept returns. If your item arrives damaged, please contact us within 48 hours with photos and we will make it right.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gems \u0026 Stems","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44267698290766,"sku":"PW-SP-01","price":88.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0732\/5666\/5166\/files\/01-lifestyle_62401a01-cb18-492b-9efa-908398e169dc.jpg?v=1788389245","url":"https:\/\/shopgemsandstems.com\/products\/petrified-wood-sphere-polished-red-and-gold-fossil-wood-ball-crystal-gift","provider":"Gems \u0026 Stems","version":"1.0","type":"link"}