Conglomerates are basically round stones set in a matrix of finer sand and clay. The stones can be gravel, pebbles, cobbles, or chips of boulders. These stones have been tumbles along beaches, rivers or streams for countless years to round off all the sharp edges. That makes these stones very touch to survive all the battering and elements of Mother Nature; so conglomerates are usually a base stone of quartz, flint, chert and hard igneous rocks. Conglomerates in a way, mark an interruption in the slow, steady process of deposition of rocks and minerals.
The great majority of conglomerates are described as petromict or polymict. This means they contain a wide mix of different stones from a variety of sources, such as basalts, slates and limestones. The matrix can be silicates, calcites or iron oxides. They are mainly river deposits washed down from areas of high relief and dumped in alluvial fans. The colors of conglomerates are as varies as the rocks and minerals their stones come from. The stones are often marked by different colors from the matrix.
In this design I’ve used a red conglomerate jasper pendant that is found and mined in New Mexico; the strands of the necklace are of red star jasper and rare Arizona ivoryite with a splash of blue crystals to bring out the blue matrix in the pendant.
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