Thundereggs from New Mexico, USA

New Mexico - the USA's 'second' thunderegg state (after Oregon). These stones have their own characteristics, including some very distinct groups. To generalize, the most familiar New Mexico stones fall into two immediate types - the Baker family and the 'New Mexico Browns'. The Baker family contains one of the most famous thunderegg locations of all - the Baker Egg Mine - though there are other close relations. I have a curiously ambivalent relationship with the famous Baker stones themselves and, personally, I find some of those close relations much more interesting.

The 'New Mexico Browns' cover a whole string of sites - simple and usually not very colourful agate surrounded by a rich brown to red-brown matrix. Telling these New Mexico Browns apart can be a nightmare and you largely have to rely on original tags. As a whole though, they have a simple beauty that can be more seductive that you expect. At first glance they can seem uninteresting, but when I looked closer, Ii was quickly caught by the subtle forms they can take. An earthy and quiet charm.