Crinoid Star Earrings - Science Jewelry

Crinoids are marine animals that are sometimes referred to as "sea lilies" because their long, feathery appendages give them the appearance of a plant. They are related to sea stars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Their extinct ancestors, the Pentacrinites, have left abundant fossil deposits throughout the world. Pentacrinites attached themselves to driftwood via a stem called a "columnal" and floated along with their substrate. Crinoid stars, as illustrated by this earring design, are the fossilized pentagonal cross-sections of the columnals. The largest crinoid raft ever found can be seen in Holzmaden, Germany. It is 6 meters wide by 18 meters long and was attached to a 12 meter long piece of driftwood. The largest columnal ever discovered was 40 meters long, so clearly crinoid colonies were once even larger than the specimen on display in Holzmaden.

The earrings are 1.4 cm (0.6 inches) in diameter.

The earrings do not ship from Shapeways with hooks. You will need to purchase hooks and attach them yourself.