Kambaba Jasper is not Nebula Stone
Kambaba Jasper has been sold under many, many different misleading names to mislead the public.
(Kambamba/Eldarit/Kambaba/Kabamba/Kabamby/Cumbamba/Cambamba/
Combamba/Amphibianite/Fossilized Stromatolite Algae) Etc.
A caution to Mineral Collectors and the Esoteric Community
It's known that some unscrupulous sellers make up new names for well known stones and crystals in order to sell them to an unsuspecting public.
And now there are companies that are trying to capitalize on the popularity of our stone's name (Nebula Stone™) because they have learned it has become very popular around the World. Kambaba Jasper is sometimes falsely sold as Nebula Stone by those who either have wrong information or are being unscrupulous. Some unethical companies have intentionally sold Kambaba/Kambamba/Kabamba Jasper/Crocodile Jasper from Madagascar and South Africa falsely calling them Nebula Stone and other variations of the name. There are wholesalers that are deceiving the retailers, public, metaphysical and mineralogical communities by falsely renaming "Kambaba Jasper" to... Nebula Stone, Eldarit, Nebulastone, Nebular Stone, Eldarit Nebulastone Kambaba.
So we felt some pictures showing the differences between Nebula Stone and Kambaba was needed to eliminate the confusion.
They are both good stones , however Kambaba Jasper is not Nebula Stone.
They are geologically and mineralogically entirely different stones.
There is confusion amongst most people selling Kambaba about what Kambaba Jasper really is. None of them really seems to know. Some have called their stones Kambaba and it has also been seen named Galaxyite. It has also been seen called Eldarit (in Europe), and others have called it Nebula Stone and some have called it Eldarit-Kambaba-Nebulastone, also green jasper Nebula, also amphibianite and still others call Kambaba Jasper; crocodile Jasper. Also it has been found being called green stromatolite jasper, also it is found called stromatolite Kambaba and fossilized stromatolite algae.
So as one can see it's quite confusing. There is confusion on what the stone's name really is.
From the names some people were calling their images of what could be found being sold on the internet it seams that Kambaba Jasper is a stromatolite algae (a type of fossil) that came from the South African rift. When I sent some info on Stromatolites, a couple people disagreed and said Kambaba was not a stromatolite fossilized algae. But they did not furnish me with any links to publications or information to substantiate their belief. It might have been helpful if they had done so. It is very hard to find anything definitive on the subject and regardless of the subject, there is much misinformation on many subjects on the web. It’s sometimes easy to acquire the wrong impression. It seems most folks are not sure what it is. The trail is obscured by the many different new names that Kambaba has been falsely renamed to.
I think the closest that I can figure out is that it is the stone they call crocodile Jasper from Madagascar that others have bought and sold using all the other fake names. Right now I believe that crocodile rock is sold honestly as crocodile rock from Madagascar and then it is bought and renamed other names by other companies. The truth about Kambaba Jasper and it's many fake names is hard to figure out.
UPDATE 1/30/2008
Found on Norcross-Madagascar Minerals Tucson show 2008 web page:
"Crocodile Jasper Spheres (formerly Kambaba Jasper or fossilized stromatolite algae)."
Norcross-Madagascar is the largest stone mining and cutting and exporting company in Madagascar.
The example below is just one of the many, many confusing different examples of what one can find on the web
The Cambamba Jasper Sphere
"A stromatolite fossil rock!
This beautiful, natural, hand-polished Cambamba Jasper sphere retail mineral
specimen is from Madagascar. Cambamba Jasper (also called "Kambamba" or
"Combamba" Jasper in the U.S.) is a relatively new find, and was almost called amphibianite because of its
amphibian-like appearance. With a high luster green and black stromatolite
spots, swirled in a natural harmony, Cambamba Jasper is a welcome addition
to the mineral enthusiast's and the fossil enthusiast's collection!"
The example below is from a GIS (geographic information specialist) Geologist in Belgium .
"Jasper Kambamba (or Kambaba or Eldarit or Amphibianite ...)"
"This specimen is particularly intriguing because even
'may not be a stromatolitica.
This is a variety of jasper (so 'defined) from Madagascar (location unknown
at the time) and discovered recently but I do not know anything, or
rather, I have not found anything scientifically interesting and I do not
know where to find information subject (if you have data, theory,
publications please comunicarmele please). Dating from about 3 billion
years (? I am not sure), is characterized by structures that actually
orbicolari may be associated with algal structures, so 'structures as a type
of volcanic origin sferulite or granulite. A sample aesthetically very
beautiful.
If you try "Kambaba" via Google, it turns out that this rock is used in
jewelry (or rather jewellery) worked to make the pendants, amulets and
balls.
Sample size 11cm x 11cm.
(copying image was not allowed)
The two images below show a typical structure raggiata that develops from a
core. The buildings algal (type gyrvanella and oncoidi) normally possess a
concentric and radial not, unless it is a particular type of oolite, whose
size pero ', in this sample, around 5-10mm. So, the mystery continues to
persist ......"
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In just those 2 web sites Kambaba Jasper is being referenced in four different spellings and four different names;
1. Cambamba
2. Stromatolite fossil rock
3. Kambamba
4. Combamba
5. amphibianite
6. Eldarit
7. Kambaba
So as you see, It's pretty hard to figure out what Kambaba Jasper really is.
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Nebula Stone
Please click on Nebula Stone Crystal Sphere image to enlarge
When we discovered Nebula Stone in 1994 we sent samples to Dr. Leslie Hale
with the Smithsonian Institution, Dr. George with The American Museum of
Natural History, Dr. Sid Williams of Globo De Plomo, Dr. Dave Douglas
researcher UCLA, Dr. Vergil Leuth with New Mexico School of Mines, Dr. Bruce
Geller of Geo Concepts Unlimited Bolder Colorado (Melody's mineralologist)
and others. Nebula Stone was analyzed using X-ray Dispersion Analysis (EDX)
in a Scanning Electron Microscope (Microprobe/SEM), Polished Section
Analysis, XES Elemental Analysis, XES Search (@1/4), Digital Imaging,
Photomicrographs, Back-Scattered Electron Detector (BSE), Petrographic
Analysis and X-ray Diffraction and the Electron Microprobe.
The Nebula Stone description below is from the World renowned mineralogical Petrologist Dr. Sid Williams.
"The technical description of the Nebula Stone may not be much fun to read but at least it would be familiar to a professional geologist if it were in your interest to use it in that manner. In plain English stripped of jargon it means that this stone is a fresh and unusual alkalic volcanic rock composed of the minerals Quartz, Anorthoclase, Riebeckite, Aegirine, Arfedsonite and Zircon. Quartz and Anorthoclase form the groundmass of the gem, while Riebeckite and Aegirine are an integral part of the spherulites. The darker matrix is richer in Riebeckite and also contains more Quartz and Anorthoclase. The light green spherules you see in the stone composed of radiating fibers are riebeckite needles mantled with fine grained Aegirine."
"This stone evolved from inside the Earth with it's discrete rare combination of minerals cooling and crystallizing forming as a glassy unit that devitrified slowly under quiescent conditions. Spherulitic structures began to develop in the glass by virtue of devitrification while other portions of the glass residium remained slightly mobile, showing streaky structure around those domains in an advanced state of crystallization. Ultimately the glass base also devitrified under static conditions. This has produced a matrix of Quartz and Anorthoclase which occur in complex intergrowth. typically the Anorthoclase is present as slender lath-like crystals or feathery club-shaped prisms (points) floating in an interstitial filigree of Quartz. Within spherulites Anorthoclase is predominant and there is less Quartz for it appears to have segregated from these domains during crystallization."
"Lying side by side with the anorthoclase laths are slender prisms (points) of Riebeckite which may attain considerable length and yet never exceed 10 or 12u in width. The matrix of the stone contains considerably more clear Quartz-rich vein-forms and in places it has grown nearly at the exclusion of Anorthoclase. However, needles of Riebeckite still lie within these minerals and their common orientation is suggestive of flow banding around spherulites. Granular Aegirine occurs in the matrix where it appears to have replaced or supplanted Riebeckite almost entirely and the largest grains occur in late magmatic vein-forms carrying clear granular Quartz. Aegirine occurs within spherulites and it lies side by side with Riebeckite needles and appears to replace their margins."
"What this means is that the minerals were once molten and glass-like but cooled very slowly, allowing the discrete minerals to begin to separate out and crystallize so the final product had lost its glass-like condition. This allowed the green (orbicules or spherulites) to form as the different component minerals cooled and crystallized at various rates. The stone is deep green, almost black looking, with crystallized Spherulites. The Spherulites are crystals composed of Anorthoclase, Riebeckite and Aegirine crystals."
"I have sent a small packet to you under separate cover. It contains the rock sample I borrowed from you, the thin section, and a couple of photomicrographs. Photo (01) shows a partial termination of a quartz crystal and perhaps this is a "point"; I cannot imagine any other definition of the term. Photo (02) - number not visible for some reason - shows a similar situation, although the crystals not so well defined. However, the specimen I borrowed shows numerous terminated quartz prisms in the matrix."
Sincerely Sidney Williams
Quartz and Anorthoclase form the groundmass of the gem, while Riebeckite and Aegirine are an integral part of the spherulites. The darker matrix is richer in Riebeckite and also contains more Quartz and Anorthoclase. The light green spherules you see in the stone composed of radiating fibers are riebeckite needles mantled with fine grained Aegirine.
We have learned that there is some confusion about what really is authentic genuine Nebula Stone.
The pictures below will make it clear.
Nebula Stone slab
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Kambaba Jasper slab
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? What is Kambaba Jasper ? (Well, look at all the names below)
Kambamba/Kambaba/Stromatolite, Fossilized Stromatolite Algae/Kambaba/Eldarit/Kabamba/ Kabamby/Cumbamba/Cambamba/Combamba/Combamby/Amphibianite/Stromatolite Jasper/Galaxyite,
also Nebula Stone/Nebulastone/Green Jasper Nebula/and various combination of the words etc.
It has been sold under many, many different misleading names to mislead the public.
Kambaba Jasper comes in many variations. The Kambaba variations falsely being sold under it's many different copy cat names appears to primarily comes from the South African Rift, near Madagascar.
And now some unethical companies are intentionally selling Kambaba Jasper falsely calling them Nebula Stone and other variations of the name.
One can easily see the difference in the pictures below
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3 examples of Kambaba Jasper
Sphere heart and cabochon
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2 examples of Nebula Stone Volcanic: of igneous origin (crystallized minerals from within the Earth).
Nebula Stone Goddess and Nebula Stone Frog Please click to enlarge these two Nebula Stone images |
The differences can be easily seen
The Kambaba sphere and the Kambaba heart and cabochon (shown above on the left).
The eyes in Nebula Stone are crystallized minerals of Anorthoclase and Riebeckite points mantled with fine grained Aegirine crystals. The Quartz, Anorthoclase and Riebeckite form the matrix of Nebula Stone.
Kambaba jasper is usually NOT a dark background (Matrix). The base color of Kambaba is usually "bluish-gray-green with mottled patterns of black spots with black swirls and sometimes green spots with less black, but the base (background color) of kambaba is usually lighter bluish-gray-green."
Nebula Stone is a deep green (almost black) matrix. The base color of Nebula Stone "is deep green appearing almost black with magmatic clear Quartz-rich vein-forms carrying clear granular Quartz throughout the matrix with microscopic prisms (points) in the self healed veins of Quartz." "Quartz and Anorthoclase form the groundmass of the gem, while Riebeckite and Aegirine are an integral part of the spherulites. The darker matrix is richer in Riebeckite and also contains more Quartz and Anorthoclase. The light green spherules you see in the stone composed of radiating fibers are riebeckite needles mantled with fine grained Aegirine."