In late February I published a new tutorial for Polymer Clay called Ammolite, Batik Veneers and Faux Bone Pendants. I love this material, but it is so very expensive that I wanted to make my own. Some of you may ask ‘But what is Ammolite?‘
Ammolite is the gemstone of the thin, iridescent opal-like layers of fossilized shells which are ammonites. Here are some more interesting facts. Lesser grades are the fractured Dragon skin like layers, more valued are opalescent sheets. Ammolites are from the Mesozoic Era, the time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the Age of Reptiles, as in Dinosaurs.
Ammolite is only found from Alberta to Saskatchewan in Canada and south to Montana in the USA. Ammonites that formed Ammolite, inhabited a prehistoric, inland subtropical sea that bordered the Appalachian Mountains—which is known today as the Cretaceous or Western Interior Seaway.
Some examples of Albertan Ammolite with the Dragon skin or scale like fractures. Colors range from golden amber, to rose, red, purple, blue and green.
Photos make it hard to tell as you cannot rotate the piece to see it from the different angles. I didn’t use any fractured gold leaf and it wouldn’t give quite the same effect.
Quite often Jewelry grade Ammolite needs to be capped with a Crystal or Spinel, but I capped mine with resin as that also brings out the iridescence. Of course you can make other colour veneers that are just as beautiful and have a lot of dichroic effects. Of course capturing ‘metallic’ effects is difficult with a camera lens.
If you try it for yourself, you won’t be disappointed. Guess what I’m going to work on today, lol…yes, Ammolite. I need some earrings for those pendants. Have a great weekend!! (raining here today)
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