The fossils found in our products are from the Cephalopod class and are dominantly Orthoceras, Ammonites and Goniatites.

Geologically, the stone that we use is marble and very dense limestone. In the commercial and construction industry the term "Marble" is used for both cyrstaline rock and limestones whose high density allows for a high polish. High density limestones can have the same applications as some marbles. Marble is simply limestone that has recrystalised, and in that process most fossils are destroyed. That does not imply that all marble is harder or has more application than limestone.

Like limestone, marble can vary greatly in porosity and density. For example, the snow white marble from Thassos Greece is one of the coarsest marbles on the market, and despite it's attraction it is a poor quality stone for most practical use. Ancient scuplturers however, liked the soft marbles because they were easier to scuplt with.

Some limestones are nearly as hard and resistant as granite, and extremely non-porous. Like marble however, even very hard limestone is susceptible to household acids and alkalines. A honed or semi polished finish when using our products for practical use, makes rough spots or "etching" less noticeable and can also be self repaired. A fully polished marble or limestone finish that needs etch repair will need to be fully repolished again. Marble and limestone slabs are often used in the kitchen as a pastry slabs, because of their cool flat surface. 

Sealing marble and limestone products helps against staining.

Orthoceras was aptly named so because of its "straight horn" shaped shell.
They swam in the ancient seas of the Paleozoic Era and survived right through to the Cretaceous period. They appeared most abundantly through the Devonian period about 400 million years ago! Surviving for millions of years where other animals did not, Orthoceras like their ammonite relatives, became extinct at the end of the Cretacious period around 65 million years ago. Perhaps their longevity was due to their relative sophistication. Straight cephalopods had eyes, jaws, and a sophisticated jet propulsion system that squirted water from their bodies. They were also predators with tenatacles and a defensive ink sacs much like their distint relative - the modern day squid.

Goniatites varied greatly in size from as small as 2 cm to more than 2 feet in diameter! These ammonite family members survived through the Silurian Period (435 million to 410 million years ago) and were abundant and widespread in the seas of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (175 million to 65 million years ago).

Ammonites grew larger by forming new "chambers" or "septa". Each partition had an opening for a tube or "siphuncle", like that of modern nautilus which allowed it to fill the chambers up with gas. This enabled them to alter their bouyancy in the oceans. Both goniatites and Orthoceras shared these functions.

Ammonite fossils are often beautifully detailed with a tiger striped limestone matrix. They are often used for fossil displays and fossil collections, while also looking spectacular in home or office decor setting.

Sourced from ICS - International Commission on Stratigraphy, this chart shows the Earths Eons Eras and Periods clearly. Our fossils are placed in the Phanerozoic Eon. 

"Phanero" is Greek for "Visible", while "Zoic" means Life. Therefore the Phanerozoic Eon marks the emmergence of visible life including the marine invertebrates that form base fossils in our collection.

"Paleo" is Greek for "Old". Thus the Paleozoic Era means "Old Life". If you're interested in real antiques then a single plate from our collection will put you back at least 300 million years!