BANTAN OPALIZED FOSSIL WOOD

BEAUTIFUL NATURAL BLACK FOSSIL WOOD WITH PARTS OF THE WOOD THAT WERE REPLACED BY OPAL. VOLCANIC IN ORIGON, IT WAS CREATED BY A PROCESS OF POLYMORPHIC REPLACEMENT. THE PLAY OF COLOR IS SHY BUT BEAUTIFUL AND THE PROCESS TO EXPOSE THE OPAL IS OFTEN VERY DIFFICULT.  ACCORDING TO IROCKS " THE LOCAL NAME FOR THIS MATERIAL IS "KALIMAYA" WHICH MEANS "RIVER OF ILLUSION." SEVERAL STUDIES INDICATE THE MATERIAL IS 5-7 MILLION YEARS OLD (A GOOD REFERENCE IS PRECIOUS OPAL FROM JAVA BY SUN ET AL, AUSTRALIAN GEMMOLOGIST (2009) 23, 513-528). "