There is really a LOT to love in this medium sized, beautifully articulated round. Everything from the shape to the color to the well preserved Araucaria wood grain are all really top notch. The color pattern in this one is actually very unusual for this site. The wood grain appears much richer and bolder and the almost fortification type coloring really sets the growth structure up vividly in the highly polished face. There is even a gorgeous star shaped crystal geode cavity in the very center of the log! They really don’t come any better than this from any petrified forest anywhere – it’s just a beautiful display specimen! The colors are as captivating as they are calming somehow, and every slab is like its own hypnotic ancient artwork! I cut a lot of amazing petrified logs, but this one really deserves a special place where it can be appreciated by many eyes. This is a medium-large dinner plate sized round and it is a virtually perfect slab from one of the best Madagascar logs I’ve cut! Much of the fine detail in a larger piece like this is lost in the photo – the wood grain structure, color, and agate inclusions are truly breath taking when viewed in person. The crystal lined cavities formed around knots and insect borings in the log and they only add to the ancient natural wonder of this amazing fossil stone. This log was one that I hand selected on my trip to Madagascar a couple of years ago, and I’m glad it found it’s way around the globe to find me again. The pieces are turning out even better than I’d hoped – these are true museum pieces and you just can’t beat the price for a well polished, flawless slab this size! The rich color and mirror perfect finish in this exceptionally preserved specimen are going to have to be seen to be believed! Get one of these while you can – I’m sure they won’t last! One of the largest and most productive petrified forests on the planet is on the huge island of Madagascar off the southern African coast. While many have seen the bland and lifeless specimens that are most typically found in this huge deposit, few have had the opportunity to see the top grade, colorful gem fossils that are occasionally unearthed there. Fewer still get to see them properly prepared with a mirror finish to reveal all of the rich fossil wood grain and color! Even the rind on this log is amazing, offering up a perfectly contrasting sandy texture that still looks like a log today. Last year we located a new source of logs that have produced some truly museum grade specimens and this stunning monster is definitely one of them! The material was so good in fact that I travelled halfway around the world to be able to select the best pieces this particular forest had to offer! The color alone makes it a collector piece – but add in all the other features in this nearly flawless specimen and you can see why I was so excited to have found the log! They truly do not get much better than this folks, no matter what forest you’re looking at! It’s just amazing how beautiful petrified wood can be and this fine specimen found halfway around the world shows to what lengths people will go to bring these treasures to market! If you don’t own a top grade piece from this increasingly important deposit yet in your own collection, this is your chance. This is a complete round cut from the center of a nice sized log. It shows the distinct (and uncommon to see so well in logs from this location) honeycomb grain structure of modern conifers (no resin canals visible) which makes it related to modern fir and sequoia (it’s probably araucaria). This stone has been professionally polished on our own custom built lap that produces a flat face and a mirror perfect shine. It is a full slab cut from the center of the log. The polish really is liquid perfect – a difference in the quality products Sticks-in-Stones has built its reputation on! It’s also a nice to display size – it measures about 9 1/2″ x 7 1/2″ across the mirror polished face. It’s cut about 0.52 thick. Weight is about 2.18 lbs. The item “SiS MY NEW FAVORITE 9+ Madagascar Petrified Wood Round TRULY SPLENDID” is in sale since Sunday, December 16, 2018. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Rocks, Fossils & Minerals\Fossils\Vegetation\Petrified Wood”. The seller is “rockshop” and is located in Beaverton, Oregon. This item can be shipped worldwide.