Ammonite is a fossil shell that looks like a large snail shell and
originally had a squid like creature coming out the large end. When
it preserved, the ‘squid’ rotted away leaving only the shell. They
range in size from about 1 inch to many feet across. Though found
around the world, in Alberta the minerals in the soil caused a
change in the shell to have a beautiful colored surface. Some even
have many layers.
The main companies selling this “gemstone”, as it is classified
here as the ‘Alberta Gemstone’ claimed about 10 - 15 years ago that
it was a new find, and only found in Alberta. This is incorrect as
I know many rockhounds who have been collecting this for 30 some
years. Also if you know a little about geology, ammolite is found in
a swatch starting in Northeast B.C., most of Alberta, Southwest
Saskatchewan, and down through much of Northern Montana. In Alberta
it is now taxed through royalties just as is our oil. Apparently the
best colored material comes from claims along the St. Mary’s River
in Southern Alberta (at least so far). The beautiful coloring is
similar to both precious Opal and the irridecent colors in an oil
slick. Though attractive when set it is very brittle and flakes
easily, this makes it hard to set in a 'natural ’ state (this is
ammolite that is just sanded smooth and polished). After time though
it appears that natural done stones lose thier coloring due to
exposure to oxygen. The best stones are the doublets or triplets, as
the glue and quartz caps seal the stone from the air. They are also
easier to set. I hope this is helpful at dispelling a few
myths about ammolite.
PS: the only reason they trademarked the name Ammolite is that they
were not able to trademark Ammonite, which is the name of the
fossil. Karen Bahr “the Rocklady” @Rocklady May your
Gems always “Sparkle”