We live in Northwestern lower Michigan, the Petoskey Stone capital. Although Petoskey Stones are found in other places, the finest ones come from our area. The state stone of Michigan (the greenstone or chlorastrolite is the state gem), the Petoskey stone is found around Petoskey of course, but also on beaches, gravel pits, and gravel roads across the state.
On the stone piles, Petoskey stones blend in with the other gray rocks common around here. Whenever it rains you can find us donning our raingear and heading out. Rain makes the wonderful eye-like pattern of the Hexagonaria Fossil just POP! We also sometimes find other Devonian Fossils including Favosites, Horn Coral, Chain Coral, Crinoids.
A majority of Pink Petoskey Stones have some distortion caused by the Iron Oxide inclusions.
The rare Pink Petoskey Stone is one thing we especially covet. We do not find many of these beauties, but when we do, we save them for jewelry or for collector pieces. Research has shown that the pink coloration happened during the calcification when small amounts of iron permeated the Calcite. It really does not take much Iron to tinge Calcite with a Pink coloration.
The pendant on the left is a darker Petoskey Stone and the iron tinged the stone almost mahogany. The stone on the right is lighter and just has a "hint" of pink.
My favorite thing to do with Pink Petoskey Stones is to make pendants. Light colored Petoskey Stones generally have light pink coloration, while dark Petoskey Stones produce wonderful maroon colors.
One of the specialties of Snob Appeal Jewelry is Pink Petoskey Stone. When I find a stone, I can only guess how deep the pink color saturates into the stone. Many times the pink hue is only skin deep. I find that often the Iron Oxide has distorted the Petoskey Fossil, making a less then satisfactory gemstone. If I find a pink Petoskey actually is gem grade, it is a special moment knowing that this will make some great jewelry.
I’ve talked a lot about my love for the Pink Petoskey stone, but I still make pendants from the other Petoskey Stones I collect, as long as they have a vivid pattern. Unfortunately, often a Petoskey Stone may be porous, making it impossible to polish to a suitable jewelry finish. Other times the Petoskey Stone may be “muddy” (pattern has mud visible in the mouth of the fossil). I do not use these muddy fossils in my jewelry.
I find Petoskey stones throughout our home area, but I realize just how uncommon these fossils are throughout the world. Our Petoskey earrings, bracelets, and necklaces are most popular with people who have visited or lived in Michigan, searched the beaches and remember those times fondly.