Inspired
by the ammolite’s incredible history and extreme
rarity, Alberta artist Darryl
Darby dedicates himself to creating
unique, beautiful jewelry from the gemstone. Using
select stones, he custom designs and hand crafts each
piece, insuring every piece receives full attention
to detail. The result of such attention is jewelry
with uncompromising quality and distinction.
The Origin of Ammolite
Over 65 million years ago, during the Mesozoic era,
Alberta was partially covered by the sub-tropical
Bearpaw sea. This sea was home to a large sea snail
called an ammonite: a distant relative of the present
day Nautilus. Ammonite shells accumulated on the
sea floor and were buried by sediment. Fortuitous
geological conditions have preserved and enhanced
the original ammonite shell to provide us with a
most beautiful and unique gemstone called ammolite
which is found only in Alberta.
In
1981, the International Colored Gemstone Commission
recognized ammolite as a semi-precious, organic
gemstone. With a finite supply and only one in a
hundred of the preserved shells yielding few gems,
ammolite is one of the rarest gemstones in the world.
Over the years the ammolite has become recognized
as a symbol of love and romance.
