Ancients17

small business focused on the natural and ancient world
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09/01/2026

A little break from some big fossil projects means some freshly cut Australian opals.
These are natural solid opals from Lightning Ridge Australia. As always all stones are sourced and cut in house by me.

08/24/2026

Some lovely Australian candies

08/19/2026

Kintsugi inspired world class black opal set
Kintsugi is The Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, in this case the stones where not broken but had problematic inclusions along the edge that needed a creative solution.
Imagine these stones bezel set with a thin line of gold between them.

08/17/2026

7.5ct Gem Black opal from Lightning Ridge Australia
This sone would be a great fit for a statement ring or a pendant
Shoot me a dm if you you would like some more information

08/12/2026

Two lovely Australian gem black opals cut from the same Nobby rough specimen.
These bright pastel colors are difficult to find in black opal. As the stone gets darker in body tone so does the color play. Pinks become magenta etc.

08/11/2026

Meet lonely Mo
Mo is an impressively complete mosasaur skull from the lower Sharon springs member of the Pierre shale
I believe he is a Latoplatecarpus but I am no mosasaur expert, so please correct me if I’m wrong.
This skull is quickly becoming one of my favorite finds from my summer collecting trip with iDigRox2
I can’t wait to have it prepared and mounted.
Paleo art done by Mario Lanzas

08/10/2026

Fresh off the cutting wheel!
I selected these Australian opals for their synergy of good size, nice brightness and color distribution, as well as a non brake the bank price point.
Shoot me a dm if one catches your eye.

08/06/2026

This gem sits right along the border of black opal and Dark black opal. Classifying as an N5 dark opal. What’s interesting is that this lighter body tone actually dictates the color in this stone. If it was any darker all of that beautiful salmon pink would actually come out a lot more red. Its classification as a dark opal makes it a more obtainable piece while preserving these extremely rare candy colors.

08/04/2026

Maurice the triceratops.
I found this specimen two years ago while out collecting fossils in the hell creek formation with Wes Benson
Maurice is a uniquely complete with nearly 85% of his skull being accounted for.
Slowly but steadily the prep work is coming along.

08/01/2026

Every year millions of fossils erode away into dust before they can be collected. I lose sleep at night thinking of all the incredible specimens withering away in the elements. There’s just not enough time to collect them all. Fossils aren’t rare paleontologists are.
Here are some clips from my recent expedition to the Brule formation of Wyoming.

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