Morgan Hill Poppy Jasper

    Poppy Jasper is a rare orbicular jasper, whose red and yellow dots closely resemble California poppies. It is only found in Morgan Hill, a town between San Francisco and Gilroy in northern California. This native California stone is very rare and is only found on private or protected lands. I get my rough from old rock hounds who dug it many years ago or from people who let me dig it on their property.

     Poppy Jasper is not commercially mined and is broken out of bedrock using picks and hammers. Because of this and the way it was formed, Poppy Jasper contains many inherent fractures and is very difficult to cut and polish. Some Poppy Jasper occurs as red poppies against a yellow background, others as yellow poppies against red. The most valuable pieces are ones with well defined poppies in a quartz matrix. Because of the nature of the material, exact matched pairs used in earrings are very difficult to cut and are therefore more expensive.

      I use a variety of natural carnelian and garnets to accentuate the rich golds and reds found in the Poppy Jasper.