ABOUT US
*This is an information site.*
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Our website will be up soon! Each piece we offer is completely unique. Natural variations in shape, texture, and color ensure that no two items are the same. That goes for every specimen we have in store. Creating a full online experience for a collection like this is a thoughtful and detailed process. Our main website is currently being built and will be launching soon. Thank you for your patience.
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If you are interested in purchasing merchandise from our store, call or email us at (928)-524-1842 or cgpetwood@aol.com
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Store Hours
Winter: 8 am - 6 pm
Summer: 8 am - 8 pm
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Jim gray's legacy in stone
Check us out on: Trip Advisor!
A Destination Worth The Stop
For generations, travelers along Route 66 have stopped in Holbrook to experience the beauty of petrified wood and fossils firsthand. Our store invites you to explore, learn and take home a piece of Earth's ancient history.
Built By Hand, Passed Through Generations
Jim Gray's Petrified Wood Company is a family owned and operated rock shop located near Route 66 in Holbrook AZ.
Jim and Cathy Gray established the store in the early 1970's, with little more than a pickup truck and a pile of petrified wood. From those humble beginnings, we have since grown to become the worldwide premier dealer of Arizona Rainbow Petrified Wood. We own the mineral rights to several sections of land near the Petrified Forest National Park. We do our own digging, cutting and polishing in house. We create stunning rounds, tabletops and bookends.
We have multiple attractions including "Wild Bill" who is a 50 million year old alligator, a koi fish pond surrounded by many cutting quality petrified wood pieces, a cactus garden, a private museum which includes ancient artifacts, rare petrified wood, fossils and other minerals. We also have a rock yard where you can pick your favorite rocks and minerals and pay per pound!
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Our store was featured in a segment on PBS in 2005 called "The Desert Speaks" where Jim Gray explained part of the excavation process, and the cutting and polishing processes.
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Jim Gray's Smithsonian Donation
The video shown on the right, is the top piece of the 7,000 pound log at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. This extraordinary piece was carefully cut and polished at an angle to reveal the vibrant colors, intricate patterns, and the natural beauty of the specimen over millions of years!
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Did You Know?
This picture of Jim Gray and his daughter Jennifer was taken in the early 1980's. They stand outside of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum after donating a 7,000 pound log (SEE BELOW) to be displayed at the entrance.
WHAT IS PETRIFIED WOOD?
The Petrified Wood you see today was formed 50 to 200 million years ago. It is made up of trees that were buried in mud, sand or volcanic ash ages ago and turned to stone through the action caused by water seeping through the mud and sand into the logs. There, it filled the empty cells of the decaying wood with mineral matter until the whole structure becomes solid stone.
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The water that provided the silica for petrification of the wood also contained other minerals which were added to the petrifying process. Iron, probably the mineral most commonly incorporated into the petrification, produces reds, yellows and brown. Copper occasionally was included, providing the lovely blue or blue-green. Manganese and carbon added black and quartz, the white or grey, to provide an amazing range of color tones. Look closely at the pieces of petrified wood in the images below... you are seeing one of the oldest and most beautiful pieces of antiquity in our world!
SPHERES
BOOKENDS
SLABS
Other Types of Wood
Although Arizona Petrified Wood is our main product, we also offer Indonesian,(first 3 pieces) Madagascar and Washington wood (cluster of small rocks)
ROUGH WOOD
The piece you see on the right, remains completely natural and untouched. It has been preserved exactly as it was found, with no cutting, polishing, or surface enhancement of any kind. Each crack, color variation, and texture visible in the specimen formed through the natural geological processes over millions of years. The reds, yellows, and earthy tones are the result of mineral replacement during fossilization, not artificial dyes or treatments.
WHAT ELSE IS IN STORE?
We also offer semi precious gems and stones!
From left to right, these images include: Amethyst, Quartz, and Citrine
We also have garnet in jewelry and micro-tumbled, topaz, rose quartz, black spinel, smokey quartz, citrine, and peridot.
OUR MINERALS
Back row: Calcite, Black Tourmaline, Arizona Picture Sandstone, Malachite.
Front row: Fluorite, Carborundum, Celestite, Labradorite.
Our Petrified Wood Jewelry
Shown below, is some of our petrified wood and turquoise jewelry. All of our Arizona petrified wood jewelry is hand-crafted, strung and processed in house. Each necklace and bracelet were carefully made, and each one is made with genuine sterling silver findings.
Semi-Precious Stones - Jewelry
These semi precious stones and minerals come from all over the world. Each piece you see on this page is set in sterling silver. We carry a huge inventory of affordable to high-end pieces.
If you are interested in any of these items shown or have any questions, feel free to contact us. We are more than happy to help!
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(928) 524-1842
Casual Stone & Crafted Jewelry
Our casual jewelry collection features a curated mix of genuine minerals, natural stones, fossils and select crafted pieces, finished in silver-tone and gold-coated chains for everyday wear.
Fossils
Fossils are nature's time capsules. They are preserved remains of traces of plants and animals that lived millions of years before humans ever walked the Earth. Formed when organisms escaped decay through rapid burial in sediment, fossils can include entire skeletons, impressions in rock, or trace fossils such as footprints, shells and leaves. Over time, minerals replace or alter the original material, locking these moments of ancient life into Earth's crust. Some remains may be temporarily preserved without fossilizing, but true fossils tell a permanent story of life long past.
Trilobite
Shark Teeth in Matrix
Fish Fossil
Sting Ray Fossil
Ammonite
Zipper Oister
Ammonite
Dendrite
Ortheceras
Crinoid
Reptile Skull
Trilobite
