Jet culture

Jet culture

The presence of high-quality jet deposits in Asturias enabled, since ancient times, its mining and artisanal use, giving rise to a culture centered around the properties of this unique mineral. Its believed protective nature generated strong demand for handcrafted creations, which were sold mainly outside the region, both in traditional forms like amulets and in more unique versions, as various pieces of jewelry

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Intangible

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Cultura del azabache

18/06/2025

18/06/2025

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University of St Andrews

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Carmen Pérez Maestro

Jet is the most well-known and widespread gemstone found in Asturias. The area of Villaviciosa and Gijón is the epicenter of both its extraction and its transformation into jewelry pieces.The layers of jet are located in the highest sections of the Upper Jurassic, from the Kimmeridgian age, consisting of alternating sandstones, marls, and dark silty clays. It originated from woody trunks that were carried and deposited between the sandstones of the well-known Lastres Formation, although it is also found in the so-called La Ñora and Vega formations, in a transitional sedimentary environment.There are precedents for the recognition of the existence and quality of Asturias' jet in foreign scientific publications as early as the 19th century.

Villaviciosa and Gijón area, Asturias, Spain

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