Orthoceras is a genus of extinct nautiloid cephalopod. Their long slender shells varied in length from less than a centimeter to more than 14 feet! You may have seen stunning large carved panels, book ends or tables showcasing multiple Orthoceras ("straight-horn") shell fossils in rock shops, museums, or gem & mineral shows. What do you do with the smaller portions of these popular fossils after carving the museum-quality finds? Turn them into beads! The resulting beads don't show entire shells, but many of these black, gray, white and tan beads show interesting cross-sections of portions of the orthoceras structure.
While these beads have a good hardness for jewelry, they should be protected from hard blows and acids. Fossils are believed to help one cope with change, and aid in transitions and transformation. They are also believed to activate the root chakra.