Blue opal can be found in deposits in Australia and across the Americas, a striking gemstone that's been valued for thousands of years. Petrified wood is the fossilized remains of a prehistoric tree. Just as minerals can seep into an animal’s remains and preserve its shape, fossilized wood is an impression of a tree in life, rendered in stone.

This Petrified Wood Blue Opal Pendant is a stunning co-mingling of these two phenomenon. It joins together the beauty of geology and paleobotany into one incredible jewelry piece!

The Petrified Wood Blue Opal Pendant is set into a sterling silver backing and comes with an 18" silver chain. The necklace ships in a padded jewelry box.

Each pendant has been photographed and listed separately. You can see all our currently available Petrified Wood Blue Opal Pendants in the collection below!

The process begins when wood is buried underneath sediment or volcanic ash. Under these conditions, the structure of the plant can be kept safe from decomposing organisms due to a lack of oxygen.

At this point, there are two mechanisms by which petrification occurs: permineralization and replacement. Permineralization is the filling of cavities within the plant, ranging from the insides of cells and tissues to non-native spaces such as gaps created by rot or insects. Replacement follows after the degradation of cellular walls and describes the process through which sediment fills the gaps left behind. Both these mechanisms require minerals to be transported through the plant system, often time by sediment-laden groundwater.

Iron is the most influential element in determining color, as the inclusion of the element can manifest as a whole rainbow of options. Even within the same fossil, changes in colors are directly connected to a change in the amount of iron present at a certain spot. As fossilization occurs over a very long timespan, stops and starts in petrification occur causing different colors to appear in different areas. This is what gives petrified wood its distinct and beautiful appearance.

Petrified wood can be found all over the world. The Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona contains an enormous deposit of petrified wood in the Chinle Formation. This formation was exposed through wind and water erosion. Other major deposits have been found in Brazil, Indonesia, and the coast of Madagascar.