![]() The stone was given its name by Theophrastus, a Greek philosopher and naturalist, who discovered the stone along the shore line of the Dirillo River or Achates ( Ancient Greek: Ἀχάτης) in Sicily, sometime between the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. The ornamental use of agate was common in Ancient Greece, in assorted jewelry and in the seal stones of Greek warriors, while bead necklaces with pierced and polished agate date back to the 3rd millennium BCE in the Indus Valley civilisation. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. 9.19.6 kg (43 lb) specimen of "Crazy Lace" agate from Chihuahua, Mexico next to a tennis ball 38.2 cm (15.0 in) wideĪgate ( / ˈ æ ɡ ɪ t/) is the banded variety of chalcedony, which comes in a wide variety of colors. On occasion, you can even find them with quartz crystal growth in the center, creating a transparent layer in the center of the amazing colors. Seam agate is known for intense coloration, with many amazing samples coming out of Turkey. On the other hand, in some areas, you can find them where long seams have been eroded and passed into a river. Seam agates aren’t found as often by collectors, since you generally have to knock apart some stone to get good samples. It can be any variety of agate, but a lot of it is simple waterline agate that has formed in veins. Seam agate is simply agate that is formed in the seam between mineral layers instead of in round nodules. You can even find eyes in varieties of chalcedony like Carnelian if you get lucky! Each eye agate is unique, and that’s half the fun. Eye agates are often in chalcedony that doesn’t have much transparency, leading to a background bordering on opaque with a speckled appearance.Įyes can occur in many agates, but some areas like Botswana are known to host more of them. A good way to describe it is as fortification agate… contained within agate.Įye agate is different than tube agate which is cut perpendicular to the tubes. ![]() It’s cool stuff, and there’s a lot of variance in how it forms. Fortification AgateĮye agate has orb-shaped inclusions that often end up being cut and resembling… an eye. We’ll ignore trade names for the time being so that we can focus on the good stuff: the actual differences between types of agate.ĩ Different Types of Agate 1. The locality of a stone is often included in the name and small differences in appearance. This article is about specific types of agate without regard to their locality. I’ll be using agate in the modern sense for this article. The inclusions can form in different ways, ranging from complex 3D shapes to simple coloration, which is what makes the family so varied. In recent days, agate is mostly a reference to any kind of transparent, including chalcedony. ![]() These types of agate (generally fortification or seam agate) have strong banding patterns. ![]() In the past, even the recent past, it primarily referred to various types of banded chalcedony. So let’s dive in and talk about the different types of agate! A Word About “Agate”Īgate is a strange word, used in a wide variety of ways. The trick is in knowing what actually makes up each type of agate. While all share some of the same characteristics, each also provides their own impressive visuals. Agates are a subject of their own, with various varieties creating an amazing display.
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