BUENA VISTA GEM WORKS ~ Photos of Madagascar Ocean-Jasper Slaps


Photo Gallery Pages
Click on the below links to go between the different Photo Gallery Pages
Photo Page 1spacing Photo Page 2spacing Photo Page 3
Agate Photosspacing Mt. Antero Photosspacing Amazonite Photos
Tourmaline Photosspacing Ocean Jasper Photosspacing Rhodochrosite Photos

Ocean Jasper Photos

This exciting material was imported from Madagascar, and formed on a small island off the coast. Apparently it can only be mined at low tide, otherwise the deposit is submerged. The calling card for this material is all the "eyes", or "orbs", as they are usually called. The other important characteristic is the huge array of colors it comes in. Some of the material is also translucent, so should have properly been called ocean jasper-agate, but the name ocean jasper seems to have stuck at this point. The specimens shown are of the old original material, which is now depleted. Some newer material is on the modern market occasionally, but while attractive, is not of the same quality. The orbs or "eyes" are less distinct and seem kind of "fuzzy", patterns less bold, and the colors somewhat different. Regardless of what you call it, the best of the older material is gorgeous material. It comes in sizes large enough to do spheres up to 6" or more.

Some of the specimens pictured here are from my own collection. And others are taken from eBay auctions and other sites. Many are shown with the blessing of Vaughn Nagel of Serendipity Artistry in NY state.

Double-click on the thumbnail pictures to see the full-sized photos. Use your browser's back button to return here.
oj1 A nice gem multi-colored ocean jasper sphere.
oj3 Stuffed olives, anyone?
oj4 One gorgeous piece!
oj6 A great variety of colors here
oj7 Turquoise is a very rare color in ocean jasper. Photo courtesy of Vaughn Nagel. Vaughn consistently sells some of the best ocean jasper slabs and material on his eBay auctions.
oj8 Great color contrast. Vaughn Nagel photo.
oj10 Some very large orbs. This piece also has fortifications. Vaughn Nagel photo.
oj11 More rare colors. Vaughn Nagel photo.
oj12 Huge orbs in this slice!
oj13 A mostly white piece.
oj14 Fantastic color combinations and contrast here. Explosions in a night sky. Vaughn Nagel photo.
oj15 Another truly gorgeous slice. Vaughn Nagel photo.
oj16 Not all pieces are brightly colored, but this one has nice pattern.
oj17 A matched pair of rare color. More great slices from Vaughn.
oj18 Delicate pattern and beautiful colors.
oj19 Here's one with a translucent background. This one should really be called "ocean agate".
oj20 Bright red and yellow.
o21 Incredible!
oj22 Fantastic color combos.
oj24 Just when you think you've seen it all!
oj25 Very colorful and unusual!
oj26 Very large sphere presented on eBay auction.
oj27 What more can you say than "wow!"
oj28 Another large translucent one. Spomer collection.
oj29 Green and pink with white fortifications. Spomer collection.
oj30 A lot going on here...lots of good "eyes". Spomer collection.
oj31 Same here! A lot going on here...lots of good "eyes". Spomer collection.
o32 This one almost looks like a map.
oj33 Leopard style. Vaughn Nagel photo.
oj34 Vaughn Nagel photo.
oj35 More nice slices from Vaughn Nagel.
oj36 Gears! Formerly in the Spomer collection.
oj137 A modern art classic. Vaughn Nagel photo.
oj38 More stuffed olives, but with fortifications.
oj39 Unusual rose pink background.
oj42 Not a lot of color, but incredible pattern in this one! Shows both tremendous orbs and fortifications as well. One of the best for fortifications I've seen. I've included several different pictures of this particular ocean jasper. Pictures courtesy of Thomas Clark from Julie-Tom, selling on eBay and Dragonsaye Auctions.

Three more pictures of this agate:
oj42 spacing oj42 spacing oj42
oj40 Good contrast, good orbs. Sphere with a crystal vug. Sphere about 2.5". Formerly in the Spomer collection.
oj41 Pretty colors in this one and nice "eyes"! Sphere is about 2.5". Formerly in the Spomer collection.
Want to see more? Here's a link to Roger Weller's website showing even more photos of great ocean jaspers. Click here.

Come back again as I plan to add more photos as time permits.

All photographs shown here are for your viewing enjoyment only. Copyrights are retained by original photographer or publisher. Please see our Copyright page for more information.

All photos, scans, gamma corrections, and color adjustments by Robert Spomer, unless otherwise noted.