What is Ammolite?

 

Hidden Fire Gems is pleased to offer Ammolite: a beautiful, iridescent stone capable of capturing a vibrant full spectrum play of color. 

Like amber and pearl, ammolite (also known as “gem ammonite”) is a gemstone of organic origin. It is relatively new to the world of gems and was given official gemstone status by the World Jewellery Confederation(CIBJO) in 1981. 

Ammolite is formed from the fossilized shells of creatures known as ammonites. Although these squid-like animals swam the oceans throughout the globe from the Paleozoic to the Cretaceous, only the ammonites of the subtropical inland sea in what is now Alberta, Canada were transformed into the beautiful gemstones known as ammolite. Only there did fossilization replace biological materials at the shell’s surface with a thin layer of aragonite, creating ammolite’s rainbow iridescence.  

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As this gemstone is quite delicate, ammolite is typically protected by being assembled into doublets or triplets, stabilized by resin impregnation, or coated with lacquer. (See: Mychaluk, et. al. “Ammolite: Iridescent Fossilized Ammonite from Southern Alberta, Canada.” Gems & Gemology 37.2 (2001))