A Life Devoted to Nature’s Masterpiece
In February 1997, at the dawn of the internet era, Tom Dryden had the visionary foresight to secure Ammonite.com within days of domain registration opening to the world. Where search engines returned scarcely ten entries for the word "ammonite", Tom began building the global sanctuary for the Bearpaw Ammonite.
Operating from Raymond, Alberta, Tom was a passionate lapidary artist, scholar, and appraiser. Beginning in 1991, he established the region’s premier contract-cutting facility and founded Alberta Ammonite Appraisers. He established the exacting standards that evaluated spectral brilliance, chromatic shift, and 360° rotational flash—helping elevate Alberta Ammolite into an internationally cherished national gemstone.
Throughout his life, Tom maintained deep reverence for the land and forged respectful partnerships with members of the Blood Tribe (Kainai First Nation) along the St. Mary’s River, honoring the sacred heritage of the stone for generations to come.
