It’s also broken into the interest of fine jewelers, which will just make the price continue to go up.Obsidian is produced by rapidly cooling felsic lava extruded from a volcano with minimal growth in crystals. It’s definitely not hard to see why the locations are so rabidly protected at those kinds of prices. Just getting a “wet” polish on obsidian is a task, try doing it while isolating a layer of magnetite that’s only a few millimeters thick.īy comparison, ultra high-grade obsidian cabs will usually run you less than $100 and the rough is usually around $12 per pound. This is a combination of rarity, lack of access, labor-intensive mining, and the fact that it requires an extremely skilled lapidary to make the most out of the material. In other words: Fire Obsidian is worth whatever someone will pay for it, and that’s often a lot. It wasn’t even possible to find an estimate of the “per pound” price for this stone. Rough material (other than the ends of slabbed stones) is almost impossible to find. Most “cabochons” made of the material are just polished flats due to the skill required in cutting Fire Obsidian properly. Cabochons start at $150 or more and just go up from there depending on the stone. The reason for all of that mess is simple: fire obsidian is the most expensive obsidian in the world… by far.Ī quick look at slabs shows that finding a pre-cut slab of the material for under $100 is nearly impossible. The legal issues above are a complicated mess, and people are willing to stake a claim to the area in order to keep others out of their dig sites. That’s about the best clue you’ll get unless you have a personal relationship with a local who knows the spots. Fire Obsidian is usually found in small dykes near rhyolite. This is compounded by the fact that not every piece of Fire Obsidian will be recognizable as such immediately. Fire obsidian’s rarity and extreme value (especially compared to other obsidian varieties) make collecting this material in the wild much more complicated than a Google search and signing up for a message board or two. There also appear to be locations where it can be found on the lands open to public access, but these locations are very closely guarded secrets. I’ll just advise you to be careful where you collect in the Glass Butte area if you’re not in the common public area. That’s just a touch beyond our circle of expertise here. In other words: if you were hoping to go to a known location and find some fire obsidian for yourself… well, you’re probably out of luck unless you feel like dealing with a protracted court battle that will have a serious impact on rock collecting in the area. This happened in roughly 2016, and I don’t believe it’s been challenged in court as of the time of this writing. The problem is that the law applies specifically to magnetite mined as ore, and it’s hard to argue that obsidian is a viable source of iron ore. The claims for obsidian in this area appear to have been grandfathered in, and recently the claims were switched from “obsidian” (which isn’t considered valid for claims) to “magnetite.” Mining claims are one of the more irritating things about collecting in public areas. The exact location is where things get… complicated. It appears that the only claims producing Fire Obsidian are from the area surrounding Glass Butte in Oregon. The optical effect of fire obsidian seems to be brought about by thin-film interference due to the ultra-thin magnetite crystals embedded in the obsidian. This results in a unique effect in the world of stones. With some careful analysis, it’s been determined to be ultra-thin, large crystals of magnetite that formed internally. Until recently, no one was quite sure what made the inside of fire obsidian light up like a neon rainbow. Where Does Fire Obsidian’s Shimmer Come From? Finished stones can often be found, as well as cabochons and the occasional specimen with a polished face to display the optical phenomenon. Indeed, the rough of this stunning obsidian is often impossible to find at any price. This material is rare, coming primarily from one place in Oregon, as well as being hard to cut properly. This optical phenomenon is comparable to labradorite but with more intense colors in many cases, in the best of cases they can compete with precious opal and other high-end stones. Previously, high-quality rainbow sheen obsidian was the priciest of the various varieties available but even the best didn’t demand anywhere near the price of fire obsidian. Fire Obsidian (credit: Jessa and Mark Anderson/ Flickr)
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