Fire Agate:
Most found in one geographic location on earth, the gems are rare. Although in recent years other mines have been established in other locations.
For years prior to being named a gem, the stone was sold as an oddity. The "fire" in Fire Agate moves the same as in Opal. The stone is warm brown and the fire swirls in colors of blue, green, yellow, pink and red.
When the stone was first introduced to the gem world in the 1970's the price was $5.00 per carat. Today , due to over mining and scarce rough,
the price is a bargain at $135.00 per ct.
Watch for these gems in old rock collections and at old rock shops, you might find the "Mother Load".
Agate is a hard stone, 7-9 on the Mohs scale.
Agates, a variety of chalcedony, are found in all colors of the rainbow.
Often tiny quartz crystals called drusy (sometimes misspelled as druzy), form within the stone. Lapidaries often cut the drusy from an agate and use the drusy as the main stone in jewelry designs.
Agate is found all over the world including: the Africa, Asia, Brazil, Egypt, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Nepal, and the USA.
"Gem Agate" or "Fire Agate", is found in Nevada, USA.
The only Agate
that is a true "Gem", is Fire Agate.
Many other beautiful agates
are used in jewelry today.
These include, but are not limited to:
Lace, Moss, Banded, Leopard, Blood, Mexican, Eye and Plume.
Agate is the accepted gemstone for the 12th and 14th wedding anniversaries.
