Kilkenny marble is a beautiful dark limestone that is dotted with the light colored remains of fossilized seashells from the geological period known as the Carboniferous, over 350 million years ago, when warm bodies of water covered the area which is now Ireland. The shell remains of sea creatures settled to the sea floor and over millions of years became compressed into this strikingly mysterious stone.

In time the waters receded, and this black marble has been quarried in the Irish city of Kilkenny since the 17th century. In addition to the jewelry that is made from Kilkenny marble, it was used to pave the city streets and subsequently Kilkenny is often call The Marble City.