WHAT TO CUT
Red Falcon Jasper
BY RUSS KANIUTH
Red Falcon jasper from the Dead Camel Mountain range of Northern Nevada is one of Philip Stephenson’s many stones. Shortly after Philip discovered Dead Camel jasper, he came across another porcelain-type picture jasper that resembles some of the old Owyhee jaspers.
The jasper material’s background matrix colors are mostly yellow, pink, and white. One may see some similarities to wonderstone, but there’s no mistaking its trademark plumes, which often appear to be flowering or have a lightning-strike type of design. This material is amazing to cut, and unlike some of Owyhee jaspers, where most of the pattern’s circumference the outer edges, Red Falcon patterns run through the entire stone. The pattern’s extensiveness helps avoid losing much of the pattern while slabbing further inward of the rough, which happens with some of the Owyhee jaspers.