• Option A, five pieces of rough. One is typical yellow leopardskin pattern, and the other four are different tones of red with orange, pinkish, gray, and white. Several have well-defined banding.
  • Small irregular chunks of leopardskin jasper rough, largely red in color with some yellow pieces.
  • A retro ceramic mule with baskets on each side, each filled with a piece of leopardskin jasper rough. There is a ceramic cactus in the background.
  • Labeled "wet," four examples of what pieces of the rough look like when wet, with pattern more vivid red, orange, and yellow.
  • Several pieces of leopardskin jasper in a hand, labeled "Dry"
  • The same leopardskin jasper pieces as the prior image but now wet. The coloration of the pattern is darker and more vivid than when dry.
  • Option B, five pieces of rough. One is typical yellow leopardskin pattern with banding, and another a gradient from yellow to red. The other four are different tones of red, one with good banding, and another with faint orbicules on a light matrix.
  • Option C, five pieces of rough. Two are typical yellow leopardskin pattern with banding. The other three are red, one heaving with banding and another with orange.
  • Option D, five pieces of rough. Compared to other material these options are quite pale, with some banding and orbicules showing through dusty surfaces.
  • Option E, five pieces of rough. One is typical yellow leopardskin pattern, and the other four are different tones of red with orange, pinkish, and cream. Two have well-defined banding, and the other two have grayish orbicules.
  • Option F, five pieces of rough. The set has warm tones of yellow, oranges, and red, in gradient on some pieces. One is classic yellow material, and another has large spots similar to poppy jasper.
  • Option G, five pieces of rough. They are all similarly colored, with light matrix and light yellow or light red patterning.
  • Option H, six pieces of rough. Two are typical yellow leopardskin pattern, another two typical red. Th final two are a lighter pinkish color with gray spherulites.
  • Option I, five pieces of rough. One has vivid red pattern, and another a wide golden yellow band through it. The remaining three have more muted color, but distinct orbicular pattern and banding.
  • Option J, five pieces of rough. They are all muted in color as if dirty, with some red and yellow patterning showing through.
  • Scale image showing a dozen of the small chunks of leopardskin jasper rough scattered on a measuring mat, showing most pieces are larger than an inch square, with some larger than two inches square.
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Leopardskin jasper rough small sets

Leopardskin jasper rough small sets

$5.00 USD
$5.00 USD
Sale Sold out
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Pick your own...

Locale: Mexico

Approx dimensions: 3.75 x 2.75 x 1.75"

Approx weight: Minimum 140g total weight per set

 

Leopardskin jasper is in fact not a true jasper, but a variety of rhyolite. A lot of jaspers are actually rhyolite! Mineralogically jasper is a variety of chalcedony, which is a form of quartz. Rhyolite is in the family tree, an igneous rock composed of quartz and feldspar. 

Leopardskin provides a textbook example of orbicular growth: round 'orb-' or eyeball-like patterns in minerals, often showing multiple rings of color. Alternatively these are called orbicular spherulites; spherulites are minerals composed of dense radial needle-like growth from a point to create a sphere (hence "spher"ulite). Spherulites are typically crystalized feldspar forming within volcanic igneous quartz-based rock. They commonly appear as distinct circles with rings of color as in the case of leopardskin jasper. Leopardskin can also have veining or bold colorful banding. Options D and J have the ugly duckling discount because they have muted color and don't clearly show pattern—they may be good candidates to test polishing on.

Add the rough piece to your collection, drier terrariums, or use as an accent in a succulent bowl. Chunks of rough like this are commonly sold for lapidary purposes, to be polished into tumbles, slabs, carvings, or jewelry. The rough material is already quite beautiful, but colors deepen if polished; images labeled 'wet' preview what to expect if you do wish to polish.

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