This natural teardrop-shaped Colla Wood cabochon from Zile, Turkey, features beautiful patterns of Turquoise, Chrysocolla, Malachite, and Hematite, as well as touches of Chalcedony. Weight: 57 carats. Dimensions: 41.6 x 20 x 6.6 mm.

Colla Wood is a rare type of petrified wood found only in Turkey. It's characterized by its vibrant blue and green colors, caused by copper-based minerals like Chrysocolla, Malachite, and Azurite, as well as Chalcedony, Hematite, and Volborthite that replaced the wood's organic matter over millions of years. This unique formation occurred when ancient trees were buried near a copper deposit, allowing copper-rich water to seep into the wood and create the stunning color patterns after the wood was petrified (molecularly replaced by Silica). Many of the colorful dendrites you see are filled in trails left behind by burrowing insects. Colla wood is highly prized for its beauty and rarity, but it's also challenging to work with due to the varying hardness of the minerals involved.