Timber coffee table with garnet thin section mineral photo in resin river

Camphour (camphor) laurel wood coffee table featuring embedded garnet mineral photography in a resin river. Garnet is the Capricorn birth stone. The timber is from western Queensland and the resin river has an embedded mineral photograph, printed on best quality Hanhnemulle fine art paper. This side table would be suited to a lounge area and would make a great gift idea for a geologist or geology teacher or student. The photo was taken by my sister Sue during her career as a geologist in Queensland, Australia.

A brief description of how Sue captured the image: After cutting and roughly trimming with a diamond tipped saw the rock is slowly cut, ground and then polished to a thickness of 0.03mm (30µm). Using resin to hold this incredibly thin slice of rock onto a glass slide the constituent minerals are now ready to be viewed under a polarising microscope. The diagnostic colors produced by projecting various wavelengths of light through the rock sliver, in conjunction with mineral shape and its association with other minerals are used to determine the mineral type. The diagnostic colors and shape of the mineral can also tell the experienced petrologist the approximate chemical composition of the mineral.

This photograph depicts a magnified view (under plain polarising light) of garnet crystals set in pyroxene and quartz. Actual rock section photographed is 3mm width.

The table has been completed with three-pin black hairpin legs. The timber has not been encased in resin, and has been given several coats of tung oil to bring out the beautiful grain.

The table top and legs will be sent in two separate packages, the underside of the table top already has the screw holes pre-drilled, and the table comes complete with screws. They will just need to be screwed back into place with a phillips head screwdriver.

Dimensions: 53cm (21")D x 45cm (17.7")W x 45cm (17.7")H