The rarest and most valuable of the chalcedony family, this copper mineral drenched gemstone is only found in a handful of deposits around the world. Jason and I were offered a rare opportunity to purchase the stone that produced these cabochons from a private collection. The stone had been tucked away for over 30 years! The rough came from the Bacan Islands deposit. Most of these never make it to the USA market because collectors and jewelers in Singapore, Japan and China will pay the most to be able to access it. We're so blessed to be included in a very small group of people who are able to obtain it here in the United States. The intense crimson coloring comes from another copper mineral, cuprite and the blacks are tenorite formations (also a copper mineral) This material is nice and hard, it rates between a 6.5 and a 7 on the Moh's hardness scale.