Petrified Wood

Petrified Wood Pendant

Petrified Wood is essentially a fossil which originally occurs underground. The term Petrified Wood, meaning 'wood turned into stone', refers to the fossilized remains of trees.

Queensland Petrified Wood Cabochon

From a Lapidary perspective, Petrified Wood is a very hard material, having a hardness of roughly 7 on the Mohs Hardness Scale. This is because the wood fibers have been replaced by Agate which is a dense material.


Because of the agate content within, petrified wood takes a magnificent shine with an almost glassy finish.

Opalised Wood Cabochon

Petrified wood is formed when trees are submerged in sediment underground. The organic matter is preserved as a result of the lack of oxygen available within its surrounds. Mineralisation then occurs replacing the organic structure of the material with agatised material. This process leaves a 3D replica of the original organic material in stone.

Petrified Wood Pendant

Australia has many petrified wood deposits. The Chinchilla region (Queensland) is particularly famous for its 'Chinchilla Red' variety of petrified wood which tends to have plenty of red banding running through the material.

Queensland Petrified wood cabochon

However, the largest concentration of petrified wood in the world can be found in Arizona which is famous for its 'Petrified Forest'. This area is home to petrified logs of up to 60 metres!

Petrifed wood is one of my favourite materials to cut. As stated earlier, it finishes really well with a great shine, and because the original grain of the wood is still intact, the patterns can be amazing!

Queensland Petrified Wood Cabochon

All of the cabochons pictured on this post were cut by me. All of them are available for purchase through my online store.

Petrified Wood Pendant

Until next time!