This is a world class petrified oak round from Swartz Canyon in Central Oregon. It represents the single largest, complete cross section from an absolutely gigantic red oak tree that I’ve seen in many, many years. This round came from the Jim Leicht collection and was one of his most prized pieces. This nearly perfect round has a beautiful shape, rich color and really finely detailed and unmistakable recognizable oak wood grain. These pieces are some of the rarest and most sought after by petrified wood collectors the world over and the site is long since closed so the only pieces you’ll ever see are those found in estate collections like this one. This piece was properly prepared to be a museum grade specimen cut flat and then lapped flat and ultimately polished to a mirror finish and the quality results really show in every detail of this true collector piece! It’s a rare chance at a rare collectible. Note: This slab was part of the Jim Leicht collection. The tags (including the price tag) on the back were placed there by Jim and I’ve left them there for posterity and provenance. This is a truly amazing, beautifully prepared petrified wood specimen that has been cut and prepared with skill. This slab was part of the Jim Leicht estate collection. Jim lived in the foothills of Mt. During his long collecting career he amassed not one but two world class petrified wood collections. But even his sphere collection filled with petrified wood and his tastes and interests shifted again to the pursuit of world class petrified wood collector pieces. This piece comes from that second collecting effort which itself spanned more than 30 years. I had the good privilege of knowing Jim and we’d trade from time to time for pieces neither of us could live without. This slab is one of the few pieces from that collection to finally make it back into circulation for a new collector to cherish. Jim collected petrified wood from all over the world but, like many, was particularly fond of the gem grade wood found in the Pacific Northwest. I visited Jim’s collection a few times over the years and always admired the breadth of his incredible specimens. Those of us who knew him will miss his friendly, passionate view of both the hobby and those who participate in it. The bulk of his collection remains in the hands of another private collector who has asked me to assist with offering a few duplicates to balance the collection. I’ve seen some beautiful oak rounds from this canyon over the years, but this is by far the largest, best shaped and best preserved of the large rounds we’ve ever had the privilege to offer in roughly a decade. The petrified oak found in Oregon is one of the most prized and the most collected petrified woods in the world. These deposits form the foundation of the best oak found anywhere on the planet. There are three principal locations for petrified oak in the state. Deschutes canyon produced the most wood with mostly black and white colors. Stinking Water Creek comes next with the famous “golden oak” that is still found from time to time but increasingly difficult to obtain. But the king of them all was Swartz Canyon. It is on private ground that is no longer open to collecting (and hasn’t been for decades) so what you see now is all that will be. The log that produced this fine round was coveted by dealers all over the region for more than a decade and only recently became available as part of the large estate we secured late last year. The color in top grade Swartz is unmatched by any other petrified oak with brilliant reds & pinks in the best pieces. The incredible preservation of the oak wood combined with the gorgeous chocolate, black, pink and red colors and high contrast medullary rays in this log make this a classic collector piece in one of the most sought after of the fossil woods. The color is much richer than many Swartz wood specimens, and few are this flawlessly preserved. The details of a round this monsterous are lost on the relatively small photo, but even here the medullary rays burst from the heart to the bark like a galactic supernova! Like most of the Swartz oak petrified wood, this piece is very highly agatized. The high agate content means that this piece has polished up beautifully. It’s just amazing how beautiful petrified wood can be and the fine oak specimens found in this remote Central Oregon desert location are among the finest in the world. This piece has fabulous cell structure and wonderful eye appeal. The wood grain is very visible in this piece both in the form of annual growth rings and medullary rays. This is a nice, extra large sized specimen with incredible color, unprecedented size and a fantastic naturally round shape. This is likely to be the only one of these you will ever see outside of a museum. This stone has been professionally cut and polished on a special lap that produces a flat face and a mirror perfect shine. The polish really is liquid perfect – a difference in the quality products Sticks-in-Stones has built its reputation on! Truly a museum piece, it measures a whopping 21 1/2″ x 20″ across the polished face. It’s cut at a very slight taper that goes from about 0.85″ to 1.29″ thick. The slab weighs 29.34 lbs. A nice, unique naturally wonderful stone collectible exclusively from Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary. The item “SiS GIGANTIC 21+ RARE Swartz Canyon Petrified Oak Slab ESTATE FIND” is in sale since Saturday, November 27, 2021. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Rocks, Fossils & Minerals\Fossils\Vegetation\Petrified Wood”. The seller is “rockshop” and is located in Camas, Washington. This item can be shipped worldwide.