Old Fossils Brought To Life

Fossils are so fun to work with; they give a designer a never ending color pallet to work with. In these two new designs I’m using goniatite fossils from Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Goniatites are extinct ammonoids, which flourished from the mid-Devonian to the Late Permian (251.4 to 390 Ma). These shelled cephalopods related to squid, octopus and belemnites forming the order Goniatitida. The Gonatitida originated in the Middle Devonian 390 Ma and survived the Late Devonian extinction. The goniatitids flourished during theCarboniferous and Perian and became extinct at the end of the Permian 251.4 Ma. They were survived by their cousins the ceratite ammonoids.

Pictured to the right, earthy tones in this goniatite pendant wired in silver non-tarnish wire; accented with black agate mixed with pyrite, clusters hand charmed irregularly shaped freshwater cultured pearls.

Pictured to the left, black and white colors in this goniatite wired in non-tarnish silver wire; accented with deep dark brown almost black agate, freshwater cultured pearls, and swarovski crystals with a scattering of silver tone pewter metal beads.

Find your next treasure from the earth in our uniquely handcrafted artisan jewelry!

Naturally Earthy Fossil

More of the great Tucson finds here, a beautiful Moroccan Goniatite in soft shades of green/cream/black wired in non-tarnish silver and accented with carved Jade in natural earthy colors, mixed in some dark green Aragonite for contrast that are in pewter star end-caps.

This and many other Tucson finds are available for purchase on our website.

Unusual Old World Style

A great find from our Tucson trip in a Madagascar Goniatites; but it’s not in the usual black/brown/white colors. This one is cream/brown shades and has a small amount of ‘fiery’ opec reflection that catches the light every now and again and a very tiny amount of dark green leafy patterns on the one side. There is also some ‘ribbing’ on the fossil, giving it a nice texture in such a large sample. To accent and bring out more of the earthy tones, I paired it with very nice colored ceramic Tibetan beads that are filigree bronzy/coppery end-caps and Coral chips (dyes) in a variety of earthly tones; the wiring is handcrafted in non-tarnish brass to highlight the entire stone and necklace.

This piece along with many others is available on our website for purchase.
Coral is known to protect against negative energy while also preventing loss of energy; it also symbolizes joy and happiness, to bring enjoyment in life to the wearer.

Molluscs Group Goniatites Ammonites

The Ammonoidea were a huge group of mollusks, mostly with coiled shells, that lived in the seas and oceans. They started to establish themselves in the Early to Mid Devonian Period, from about 400-390 million years ago. Different subgroups came and went, some becoming incredibly numerous and widespread, until the end of the Cretaceous Period, some 330 million years later. Ammonoid subgroups included goniaties and ceratites and the ammonites. Together with belemnoids and nautiloids, as well as squid, octopuses and cuttlefish, the ammonoids are included in the major cephalopod, or ‘head-foot’, group of mollusks.

To the right; black/white Goniatite wired in silver with lava stone beads, pewter chain and spacers.




Fossils are always fun to learn about and exceptional pieces to work with in jewelry. I’ve been able to wire work many pieces, including Ammonites and Goniatites. Visit our website for these and other fossil jewelry designs.

To the left, Ammonite wired in brass with tibetan and ceramic beads, with goldtone endcaps and antique brass spacers.

Goniatites from Morocco

Goniatites are extinct ammonoids, which flourished from the mid-Devonian to the Late Permian (251.4 to 390 Ma). These shelled cephalopods related to squid, octopus and belemnites forming the order Goniatitida. The Gonatitida originated in the Middle Devonian 390 Ma and survived the Late Devonian extinction. The goniatitids flourished during the Carboniferous and Perian and became extinct at the end of the Permian 251.4 Ma. They were survived by their cousins the ceratite ammonoids.

The goniatites all possessed an external shell, which is divided internally into chambers. The animal lived in the largest of the external chambers, and the internal chambers would have been filled with gas, making the animal buoyant in the water.

The general structure of the goniatites would have been similar to that of their relatives the ammonites, being a free swimming animal possessing a head with two well developed eyes and arms (or tentacles).

Goniatites provided by Panther Creek Minerals, San Antonio, Texas.

Visit our website for many unusual and uniquely handcrafted designs.