About Ammolite
Ammolite is the gemstone form of fossilized ammonite shell—a now-extinct marine mollusk related to today’s squid and cuttlefish. These spiral-shelled creatures once swam in prehistoric seas and were wiped out during the mass extinction 66 million years ago.
What makes ammolite unique isn’t just its ancient origin—it’s the rainbow iridescence created by the microstructure of the shell. Unlike opal, whose fire comes from silica spheres, ammolite’s color comes from ultra-thin layers of aragonite and calcite. When these layers are stacked just right, they bend and reflect light in vivid greens, blues, reds, purples, and even rare golds. This phenomenon is called interference and is similar to what you see in butterfly wings or beetle shells.
Gem-quality ammolite is only found in a narrow stretch of southern Alberta, Canada, in the Bearpaw Formation—an ancient seafloor preserved in oil shale. The stone is considered a rare organic gemstone, like pearl and amber, and the best grades show multiple colors and good durability. Because the shell is fragile, most ammolite on the market is stabilized with resin and often backed or capped for strength.
The Blackfoot and other First Nations peoples of the area called it Iniskim—“Buffalo Stone”—and carried it in bundles for protection, abundance, and spiritual power. It remains one of the rarest and most storied gemstones on Earth.
