While doing some image organization in Lightroom, I came across a batch of photographs I had previously published to my site but somehow got “lost in the shuffle” when I migrated all of my image galleries many years ago. They’ve been omitted from my Stonescapes series of images for at least a few years, like they’d been completely forgotten. All it took was a review of some older copyright registrations to enable me to rediscover them and realize I didn’t have them on my site anymore. This type of cross-checking and organization tends to reveal mishaps now and then, and as they say, can be a blessing in disguise.
The photographs happened to be of a very particular type of jasper from the Sahara Desert of North Africa. It is so unique from similar Picture Jaspers (called that because the slices tend to look like little landscape scenes) found in the US that the prospectors trademarked the name “Royal Sahara Jasper.” In 2008, when I was heavily into seeking out and photographing many unique rocks, I remember being so fascinated by these little picturesque scenes on some slab hunts on eBay. I was familiar with picture jaspers, like Biggs Jasper, but nothing like these. The seller was the Oasis Prospecting Company run by George and Janet Sechler, the original trademark owners of “Royal Sahara Jasper” (now expired) and adventurers who hauled this stuff back to their home state of Washington from Africa. I think baggage restrictions were a little looser back then, heh!
Upon rediscovering these images, I decided to see if George and Janet were still selling this jasper and if any new batches were found. I found their online presence largely disappeared. Some generic store sadly bought up their domain name, and their trademark expired. When I stopped collecting them, I recall the supplies of RSJ growing thin, with many of the extraordinary pieces already taken (including by me!).
According to the Internet Archive, their site went offline around March 2022. While the reality of the Sechlers remains a mystery to me so far, it would seem they may have just closed up shop. I hope they retired peacefully and in good health from adventurous rock hunting.
George and Janet Sechler once published a brief chronological history of Royal Sahara Jasper (RSJ) on their website at one time, which I saved for future reference. Since I don’t know their current status or if they would want the story to live elsewhere, I thought I would leave a summary of what it stated because it is a fascinating origin story.
Royal Sahara Jasper history
The document describes the discovery and exploration of a new gemstone called Royal Sahara Jasper (RSJ) in the Sahara Desert, which started in April 2006. It offers no insight into why the Sechlers happened to be in the Sahara Desert other than just prospecting “for new finds.” It seems like a long way away from Washington State! And find things they did, most notably petrified wood trunks 40 feet long, to dinosaur skeletons and prehistoric whale bones. Their initial excitement was over this buried ancient forest in the North African desert.
Only on a rest break did George see a fractured rock that looked a lot like Biggs Picture Jasper found in the US. But it was also quite different, more dense in patterns and coloration, and the fractured surface took on the appearance that many rocks don’t have until after they’ve been polished.
Now, I can’t imagine how one goes from picking up a random rock in the Sahara Desert to finding a more extensive source of similar material in 115°-140°F temps. It’s clear from their history that it took months of looking, hiring local laborers to hand-dig various test sites, and mapping GPS coordinates in remote areas while avoiding Deathstalker scorpions.1 They were really enamored with this rock! They talk about how it was so hot they fried an egg on a rock and endured sandstorms.
Ultimately, by Nov 2006, they found what appeared to be an ancient creek bed where the bulk of the best material was found. Through the following year, they had people return to the site to unbury it from continuously shifting sands and get more material to the US… and ultimately, to some photographer in Michigan.2 Based on similar fossils found in the area and embedded in the same rocks, they estimated it to be 35-45 million years old and possibly formed from molten mudflows.
What I find the most interesting about this story is that it starts with uncovering bits of a petrified forest and then finding rocks with scenes of ancient forests within them! It is almost as if these rocks are messengers of the forest that used to be where the Sahara Desert is now.
So this post is my way of recognizing (and appreciating) the Sechler’s discovery even if their online story is no longer available for others to learn from (at least as long as this site is online. 🙂 ). I have no connections to them other than just being their past customer and a curiosity that comes about hauling rocks, not filled with gold or diamonds, out of the Sahara desert across the world. But I was at least touched by some of this good fortune. Admittedly, I feel a bit guilty about buying it on eBay and not having to avoid deadly scorpions in the process.
If anyone knows more about what happened to them, please drop me a line or a comment below. From the little research I’ve done, I would guess that they would be in their late 70s by now. Their efforts and perhaps symbols of this ancient forest live in the gemstones and photographs—small pieces of a much larger regional story to be told.
- Yeah, a real thing apparently – The Deathstalker Scorpion, aka. Palestine Yellow Scorpion (Leiurus quinquestriatus) and quite venomous. ↩︎
- I do offer prints of these Royal Sahara Jasper photographs, in my Stonescapes gallery, and also a print-on-demand store. ↩︎
I like all the threads of serendipity here, the “chance operations” that stretch from one place and time to another place and time, touching on more along the way. And the last photo has the feeling of preserving a story. You made a great point about petrified forests leading to pictures of trees in rocks. Rocks are just amazing, in general!
I have a friend with a geology background here in WA so I emailed him about Sechler – it’s a long shot but worth a try.
That’s very kind of you to reach out to your geologist friend Lynn – thank you!
A rather interesting post. I love it! It brings up the questioning of why people are drawn to certain works of art in nature, how they find these works of nature, what they do with them and where are they now? I find these to be absolutely beautiful!! In some way they remind me of Japanese paintings. It makes me want to hold each piece in my hands. Thanks for the post and honoring the Sechler’s discovery!
You are right Monte, I do see a resemblance to some of the traditional Japanese styles. They are fascinating little rocks, looking like a bland normal stone on the outside, just 1-2 inches big. But crack one open and these patterns are inside, kinda like a geode.