Tortoise

A type of Serpentine which depicts the colours of a Hyenas Coat. A relatively new stone.

Beautifully coloured stone with ‘spot’ marks similar to a leopard. It is similar to serpentine; having a creamy yellow colour with black blotches. The only known deposits of Leopard Rock are in Zimbabwe. It is a very difficult stone to carve and only skilled sculptors will attempt this rock. Power tools are used due to the hardness and to get the definition. Leopard Rock when polished has a beautiful glazed finish.

A very hard serpentine with high iron content and a fine texture with no cleavages. Has a rich outer “blanket” of reddish brown oxidized rock. A beautiful dark stone, it polishes to a high shine because of its density. There are a number of mines where this stone is found, but Guruve, in the north, is where the majority of springstone is mined. For the purpose of sculpting, this stone is mined by hand on communal lands.