This lovely platter is sculpted from Orthoceras (straight horn) and Ammonite fossils in limestone matrix that has been polished smooth. Real fossils millions of years old. This platter measures 11.5 inches wide by 17 inches long and is known as a fossil platter, fossil plate, orthoceras plate or ammonite plate. The shell of the ammonite was originally composed of aragonite which becomes unstable under high temperature and pressure. When it is unstable, it reverts to calcite. The process occurs over tens of millions of years. Similar to the shell of abalone, the ammonite shell's inner surface had layers of mother of pearl. This is actually the layers of aragonite sandwiched in between proteins. As the shell turns into a fossil, the mother of pearl layer might also transform into ammonite, which is akin to a layer of opal. And who can resist the sacred geometry of an ammonite? Very limited supply, so order while they last!!! Product code 131
