The facts
What peanut Wood actually is
Peanut Wood is classified as silicified fossil driftwood bored by bivalves, with the composition SiO₂ replacing wood and borings. It crystallises in the cryptocrystalline aggregate system.
Colour comes from black to dark brown silicified wood with white chalcedony-filled cavities; the white 'peanuts' are Teredo-type shipworm borings filled with pale silica, which is also what a laboratory looks at when it is asked whether a colour is natural.
Refractive index 1.53–1.54 (spot). Specific gravity around 2.5–2.7. Cleavage: none. Those three numbers separate it from most of what imitates it.
Where peanut Wood comes from
Peanut Wood is produced at Kennedy Range, Gascoyne, Western Australia and Windalia Radiolarite, Western Australia.
The locality is part of the description, not a footnote — two stones of the same weight from two of these places are not the same stone.
How peanut Wood is treated
Untreated. The pattern is genuinely biological: Cretaceous conifer driftwood that floated out to sea, was bored by marine bivalves, sank and was silicified. Not a jasper, despite being sold alongside them.
Treatment changes value, sometimes by a multiple, so it belongs in the description before the price and not after the sale.
What peanut Wood is confused with
In the trade peanut Wood is most often mistaken for, or substituted by, Petrified wood, Fossil palm wood, Dalmatian stone or Mookaite.
The separation is rarely a matter of opinion: refractive index 1.53–1.54 (spot) and specific gravity 2.5–2.7 settle most of it in a minute, and magnification settles the rest.
What peanut Wood is used for
Demand for peanut Wood comes from jewellery, mineral collecting and decorative objects, which is why one price per carat never covers it.
We quote each application in the unit that trade actually buys in, by the carat, by the specimen or by the piece.
Durability and care
Hardness 6.5–7; cleavage none. That combination decides what it can safely be set into.
With no cleavage plane to worry about, the practical limit is abrasion rather than breakage, and it takes daily wear well.
Warm water, mild soap and a soft brush. Avoid ultrasonic cleaners on anything fracture-filled, stabilised, dyed or visibly included.
What peanut Wood costs
As a guide, peanut Wood trades around Rough 15–80 USD/kg; cabochons 15–70 USD.
That is a range, not a quote. Colour, size, clarity, cut and origin move the figure a long way inside it, and the only honest price is one given against a specific stone. Send us what you need and we will price it.
Questions
Is peanut Wood treated, and how?
Untreated. The pattern is genuinely biological: Cretaceous conifer driftwood that floated out to sea, was bored by marine bivalves, sank and was silicified. Not a jasper, despite being sold alongside them.
Where does peanut Wood come from?
Kennedy Range, Gascoyne, Western Australia and Windalia Radiolarite, Western Australia. Origin affects price, so we name the locality rather than the country on every quote.
Is peanut Wood hard enough to wear every day?
Yes. At 6.5–7 on the Mohs scale with no cleavage plane, it handles daily wear well. The practical limit is gradual abrasion rather than chipping.
How much does peanut Wood cost?
Indicatively Rough 15–80 USD/kg; cabochons 15–70 USD. Colour, size, clarity and origin move the price a long way within that, so treat it as a range and ask for a quote against a specific stone.
What is peanut Wood confused with?
Most often Petrified wood, Fossil palm wood, Dalmatian stone and Mookaite. A refractive index of 1.53–1.54 (spot) and a specific gravity near 2.5–2.7 separate it quickly.
What is peanut Wood used for besides jewellery?
mineral collecting and decorative objects. Each of those trades buys it in a different form and a different unit.
Related stones
Looking for peanut wood?
Tell us the size, the quality and what it is for. We source it, photograph it and quote it — with the locality named.
Ask about peanut wood