Petrified woods for collectors
Find some petrified wood online
Petrified wood is very popular among fossil collectors. These pieces of wood fossilized by the millennia are of extreme beauty. Once polished, petrified wood displays spectacular patterns and colors that make it a masterpiece in any fossil collection. Check out our daily selection of the most beautiful petrified wood available online. We update this page every day. Bookmark it so you don't miss any rare petrified wood in the future.
RARE PETRIFIED WOODS FOR COLLECTORS:
A daily selection of polished petrified trees for collectors.
You will find on this page our daily selection of interesting petrified woods currently available on the web. We will highlight petrified woods that are worth a look: for example, a Rare white opalized petrified wood polished with base or a unique Arizona Rainbow Petrified Wood stump. We will also find some scarce zebra petrified wood for you. We have selected petrified woods under $800 for you, but you can visit the following pages to see less expensive petrified wood or click on any image to see the rarest specimens.
Petrified wood spheres
You will find on this page some very nice petrified wood spheres. These stunning petrified wood balls are made from raw petrified trees that are polished in a sphere shape. This spherical shape brings out all the shades of color and beautiful patterns of the petrified wood. The petrified wood spheres are very popular as an unusual decorative object for a living room, a curiosity cabinet or an office.
A nice example of petrified wood sphere
Petrified wood slices
Another very aesthetic way to present petrified wood is to polish a slice. The bewitching patterns of petrified wood are perfectly highlighted on a polished slice. Each species of tree will have specific patterns. Some species like Hermanophyton taylorii give spectacular shapes! A collection of petrified wood slices of different species is superb to observe. You will find many petrified wood slices in our daily selection at the top of this page. We choose the most beautiful specimens for you.
Petrified wood polished slices are wonderful object
Polished petrified wood
Polishing is the best way to highlight and reveal all the patterns in petrified woods. Most of the pieces of petrified woods you will find in our selection for collectors have been polished, most often into slices, but sometimes into spherical shapes. You can also find raw petrified wood which will cost you less but will need to be polished afterwards.
Petrified wood from Utah and Colorado
Utah and Colorado are two states where you can find many examples of petrified woods. Check out our selection to find beautiful petrified woods from Utah or Colorado. The polished petrified woods from these states have wonderful patterns and are highly sought after by connoisseurs.
Your questions about petrified woods :
You have written us several questions about petrified wood. Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions in order to inform our readers. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have other questions about these very particular plant fossils:
How much does a piece of petrified wood sell for?
The value of a petrified wood depends on the rarity of the species, its size, its state of preservation and its beauty. Petrified wood price varies a lot. The rarest pieces will sell for over $100,000 while smaller pieces will be found for less than $50. We recommend that you invest in a piece of petrified wood that you will be proud of and that will amaze your visitors. A nice slice of petrified wood can be found for around $1,000. On this page, we have selected many pieces in the $700 range.
Some petrified wood pieces can be very expensive !
What is the rarest color of petrified wood?
The rarest color in the petrified woods is green. Very rare specimens of green petrified wood have been found, the presence of nickel may favor the appearance of this rare color. Other colors like gold or blue are also rare. Most petrified woods will have beautiful beige, pink and brown colors.
Green petrified woods are rare in collection
Is petrified wood legal?
Yes, the collection, purchase and resale of petrified woods is legal in most countries of the world. Some countries, however, monitor dig sites and require permits for extraction, which you can easily obtain from local mineral associations or local authorities. As this website is visited by petrified woods enthusiasts from all over the world, we invite you to check with your local authorities.
Where does petrified wood come from?
Petrified wood (from the Greek petro meaning "stone", literally "wood turned to stone") is a fossil. The process of petrification occurs when wood is buried under a layer of sediment where it is first preserved due to a lack of oxygen. Mineral-rich water circulates through the sediment and gradually replaces the wood cells with minerals. Less than a hundred years would be necessary for some pieces of wood to be petrified. Petrified trees are found primarily in Arizona, Madagascar and Indonesia. The history of petrified trees begins 225 million years ago in a huge forest consisting mainly of araucarias, schilderias, ginko biloba and woodworthia. Petrified wood can be found all over the world, and sometimes in exceptional forms, because of the species or the size. For example, in Argentina, there is a park in Patagonia that has petrified trees of more than 3 meters in diameter and 30 meters long. In Australia, there are petrified and opalized woods. In the United States, there is the gilboa forest which is the oldest known petrified wood forest (more than 380 million years). The main deposits: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Russia, United States, Canada. Two cataclysms are at the origin of this phenomenon which gave birth to petrified wood. The first one: a gigantic flood is going to tear off thousands of trees of this forest. They will be dragged on 300 kilometers and will finish their race in lagoons or river plains. Immersed, thus protected from the air (anaerobic environment), the trees will not rot. The second cataclysm: a volcanic eruption that will project an incredible quantity of ash, covering the trees with a mantle up to 800 meters thick. The ash was dissolved in water and mixed with other sediments. This "soup" rich in mineral components will slowly penetrate inside the trunks. It is no longer wood but a mineral. Fossil trees do not contain wood anymore but are made of hydrated micro crystalline quartz. These minerals, which settle and replace the wood, reproduce the patterns of the wood structure. The wood is constituted of more or less soft material and that the substitution of the wood by the mineral is done more or less quickly according to this hardness of the initial material). During the process of petrification certain cavities were filled with agate, amethyst or citrine. It is about a pseudomorphosis.
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