![]() ![]() ![]() Sign up for The Globe’s arts and lifestyle newsletters for more news, columns and advice in your inbox.Thank you all who have purchased Gems, Opals, Fossils, Ammonites, Ammolite, Jewelry & MORE.Please accept on my behalf a Thank You plus buying two get the third at %50 off on my AMMONITES available on Ebay, effective now of Equal or lesser value.I ship packages same or next day REGISTERED MAIL insured USA. “Every stone has a special character to it.” “I almost feel like it’s a gift to be able to see a stone and, from experience, work with it and be able to pull the colour out and make it into a piece,” Morgan says. It’s a small frustration when you’re creating a pair of earrings but, for Morgan of the Ammonite Factory, bringing out the best of an ammolite piece is its own reward. In 2020, a 56-centimetre Canadian ammonite fossil fetched £325,000 ($560,000) at a Christie’s auction, more than three times the estimated £90,000.īeyond its visual allure, part of the appeal of ammolite is that no two stones are the same. This dwindling supply has resulted in increased interest from collectors, and Lui says that the value of ammonites has tripled over the past 15 years. Lui estimates that Korite will continue to mine for about 40 more years. With a finite number of fossils, it’s only a matter of time before the supply of ammolite runs out. “Our mandate is not to get big,” he says. However, staying small suits him just fine. Richard Morgan, president and owner of the Ammonite Factory in Canmore, Alta., says with such a small supply and a product that defies traditional gemstone categorization, it’s hard to compete on a global scale where established precious gems such as emeralds and diamonds have dominated for decades. ![]() International visitors to Canada typically discover the souvenir at tourist destinations in such as Alberta’s Banff and Jasper or on cruise ships, and Lui estimates that just 5 per cent of Korite’s sales are in Canada. Their process is certified by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage.ĭespite its distinctly Canadian origins, this homegrown gem has found much of its fanbase overseas. When they’ve finished the mining season, Lui says they reclaim the area back to its original state. “We don’t blast a hole, we don’t do deep drilling,” Lui explains. Harnessing that energy for gemstone aficionados comes through open-pit mining, where a machine scrapes the ground while two spotters hunt for ammolite and ammonite. ![]() “You can find ammonite all over the world, but only in southern Lethbridge, as we excavate and mine, does it come out with these colours,” says David Lui, the chief executive officer and president of Korite, which has specialized in ammolite mining and jewellery since 1979.Īmmolite is obtained from the fossilized ammonite shells found in a geologic formation from the Late Cretaceous age. In 1981, the Coloured Stones Commission of the World Jewellery Confederation granted ammolite gemstone status. Formed from squid-like sea creatures that swam alongside the dinosaurs, these fossils have spent some 75 million years cooking under glacier water and tectonic pressure, conditions that resulted in the development of an iridescent, rainbow-like colouring that includes red, yellow, green and blue, the latter hue being the rarest. Today, it’s still one of the jewellery world’s best-kept secrets.Īmmolite is obtained from the fossilized ammonite shells found in a small area of the Bearpaw Formation, a geologic formation from the Late Cretaceous age in southern Alberta. It wasn’t until the 1960s, however, that ammolite, the colourful shell of these ammonite fossils, was recognized by jewellery industry insiders for its commercial potential. #Korite ammonite freeLog In Create Free Accountįor millennia, the people of the Blackfoot Confederacy – or Siksikaitsitapi – have harvested horn-like ammonite fossils called iniskim to attract buffalo and to bring good luck. ![]()
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