Printstone cabochon from Australia 45,62 ct

Printstone is a nicely natural patterned quartz siltite.

It´s found in the Hamersley Ranges near the iron ore mining town of Tom Price in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Is a stone similar to the more famous and more recent precambrian Zebra Stone found not so far in the Argyle Lake.

It occurs in the “Mount McRae Shale” within the Hamersley Basin. Age is approx. 2000 My.

Some studies suggest that the unusual markings possibly have stromatolitic origins, even going so far as naming it as “Kinneyia Simulans”. However, evidence of microbial biomineralization is absent. Other authors suggest a sort of Liesegang Rings, but even in this case the differences are very strong. So we really don’t know how it formed. The mystery remains!