A Petoskey Stone consists of tightly packed, six-sided corallites, which are the skeletons of the once-living coral polyps. The dark center (or eyes) were the mouth of the coral. The lines surrounding the eyes were once tentacles which brought food into the mouth. The Petoskey Stone, like the city, was named for the Ottawa Chief Pe-to-se-ga (Rising Sun) because the stones pattern looks like the rays of the sun. When dry, the stone resembles ordinary limestone but when wet or polished using lapidary techniques, the distinctive mottled pattern of the six-sided coral fossils emerges. (Source: http://www.petoskeychamber.com/find-petoskey-stones)
All of my stones are hand picked by my boss, who has a cottage up near Petoskey, Michigan. After sorting through, I find my favorites and polish them up! A few of the new pieces in my Etsy shop:
