It comes from north of the border between Jalisco and Zacatecas, Mexico about 50 miles north of the city of Guadalajara.
Both Royal Imperial and Imperial Jasper are found on the east side of a steep canyon covered in thick vegetation.
This scattered jasper area covers over 3.5 miles long with several different deposits and types of Jasper.
Royal Imperial Jasper is found in small nodules with a soft white chalky "skin", as opposed to Imperial Jasper which is similar in colors but found in large veins and bigger pieces.
The material is considered a fine porcelain jasper and it makes wonderful patterned, unique cabochons with a great polish.
The Royal Imperial Jasper is known for having a high percentage of the “egg” pattern. What makes this deposit so unusual is that it is the finest, largest deposit with egg patterning known in the world to date.
The Greek origin of the word jasper, iaspis, means "spotted stone." This form of semiprecious chalcedony, or microcrystalline quartz, is usually red, brown or green. Its patterns are much less regular and defined than those of the other chalcedony variety, agate. Another difference between the two is that jaspers are generally opaque, while agates tend to be translucent (or at least contain translucent bands).