Ocean Jasper or Orbicular Ocean Jasper is one of my very favourite stones. OK I actually have a lot of favourite stones. But this stone ranks in the top five.

This stone was first written about in 1922, then the mine’s location was lost for the next 75 years. All anyone knew was that it came from somewhere off the coast of Madagascar.  Contemporary sources of the stone can only be reached when the tide goes out making it a challenge to mine.

Ocean jasper is distinguished by its unique multiple eye-like spots or circular patterns called orbs (that's where the term orbicular comes from) set in a background matrix in a wide range of color variations. The orbs are found in shades including white, gray, yellow, beige, pink, red, maroon and brown, plus an array of blue and green tones, and even near-black. The value of ocean jasper is judged mainly based on the richness and saturation of the colors, and the beauty of the designs and patterns.