The enigmatic ammolite is one of the world’s few biogenic gemstones. Once organic beings roaming the inland seas of Alberta, ammolites are ammonites transformed by 70 million years of heat, pressure and mineralisation into a fossil whose chromatic iridescence generates a constant sense of movement that is all at once beyond touch yet at hand.
Referred to as the 'Seven Color Prosperity Stone' in Feng Shui, ammolites are thought to be imbued with strong energetic force (or Chi), the nature of which is often tied to their colouration. Unlike other gemstones, the ammolite’s variegated coloring is not the result of chemical composition but of how light reflects on its surface. Here, a complex interplay between light and what was once the mollusc’s shell creates a color spectrum whose hues are often determined by surface thickness.
