Absolutely Amazing Agate!
Published On: 04-13-2012 02:02pm
Comments: 12 - Hits: 879
Category: Gemstone Information
With possibly the exception of jaspers, agates have to be one of the most amazing, most colorful, most fantastically patterned stones to be found. They are a stone I turn to time and time again, especially for pendants, because of their exquisite WOW! beauty. Since I have created several necklaces in the past several months, featuring agates of all types, I did a little research about the stone and decided to share. I also hunted down agate creations by ArtFire artists or stones that are for sale to be used in jewelry and want to share those, too.
Just look at the swirls and curls in this aptly named Crazy Lace Agate pendant by Quentin of lunarskies.
Agates are a beautiful stone that comes in many designs and colors. They are a variety of chalcedony quartz usually associated with volcanic rocks. How are agates formed? Starting out as a cavity in a rock, usually basalt, a young volcanic rock, water that is filled with silica and other minerals begins to percolate through the rocks. At some point, the minerals begin to crystallize out. Layer upon layer is built up like this over long periods of geological time. Because of this layering, agates are often amazingly striped with bands of subtle or brilliant color. The bands sometimes looks like beautiful scallops, like eyes or even a landscape with trees. If the cavity is not completely filled, glittering druzy quartz crystals might form in the hollow area. Some agates found in Australia are estimated to be between 2.7 to 3.5 billion years old!
During the geological process, the cavity wasn't filled and small druzy crystals grew instead. Dyed druzy agate earrings by Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs.
Agates were highly valued in ancient times and their use was wide ranging. Archaeological digs have found agates in early human settlements and ancient tombs, some dating back to the 6th millennium BC. Agates were mainly used to make stone stone blades and arrow tips, but agate beads and pendants have also been found. Theophrastus, a Greek philosopher and naturalist, named the stone somewhere between the 4th and 3rd centuries BC when he discovered the stone along the shore of the Achates River.
An exquisite Regency Rose Plume Agate was used as the focal in this gorgeous necklace by Augie of TheSilverBear.
Highly valued as talismans and amulets, Persian magicians used agates to divert storms. Ancient Egyptians believed agates protected the wearer from lightning and quenched thirst if one was put in the mouth. Babylonians used eye agates for protection against the evil eye. Warriors of many cultures set agate in their armor as a defense against harm and to ensure victory. Ancient Chinese believed that wearing agate jewelry would purify the mind, energize the wearer's chi and bring good luck. Farmers in Medieval times would tie agates to the horns of their oxen to ensure a good harvest.
This fun carved spider and skull Zebra Agate pendant can be found in the studio of MyJoyfulCorner.
Agates are found world wide and come in a wide range of colors, the most frequent being gray, white, brown, salmon, red, orange, black and yellow. Deep green and blue are very rare although shades of violet and grayish-blue can be found. Bands can be translucent or opaque when held up to the light, sometimes side by side. Because of their natural designs, the stone is often given fanciful names: moss agate, fancy agate, plume agate, pom pom agate, star agate, zebra agate, star agate, snake skin agate, lace agate and many, many others. Many agates are named after where they are found and can be very localized in nature. Agates do take a dye fairly easily and can be found dyed in all sorts of garish colors.
"Evergreen" earrings created by Susan of cserpent with luminous Moss Agate.
Metaphysically, agate is said to guard the wearer against danger. Many believe that agate has a calming effect during times of stress and that it gives a sense of strength and courage (maybe the ancient warriors were right!). Artists and writers use agate to enhance creativity. In addition each type of agate has its own metaphysical property.
A beautiful Brazilian Agate pendant showing the banding that the stone is famous for. Pendant necklace by Suzy of Pendant-Heaven.
Here are a few more amazing agate selections from ArtFire studios:
A Plume Agate triangle with a mystical looking "landscape". The pendant was created by BooBeads.
Lovely lotus-etched crackle "fire" agate necklace by Roxanne of ShanghaiTai.
Thunder Egg Agates were formed in rhyolitic lava flows, a bit differently from other agates. These unique beauties can be found in the studio of KanduBeads.
A combination of bead embroidery and peyote stitch highlight this magnificent Eagle Eye Agate by Christine by dragonfyrestudio.
This agate pendant reminded me of a surreal sunflower, so I named it "Mirasol" - by Catherine of ShadowDogDesigns.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know better the wonders of amazing agate! Comments are always appreciated - please leave one if you would like :) Thank you.
My contact information:
Artfire studio: ShadowDogDesigns
Zibbet shop: Shadow Dog Designs
Supadupa shop: Shadow Dog Designs
Blog: ShadowDogDesigns' Blog
Facebook: Shadow Dog Designs - Jewelry
Twitter: ShadowDogDesign
Flickr: Shadow Dog Designs' Photostream
Pinterest: Shadow Dog Designs
Wanelo: ShadowDog
Reader's Comments
By VanillaExtinction on 10/09/2012 @ 08:00pm
Great blog. I love agates and jaspers are my second favorite. My grandson finds some of the tiniest little agates from Lake Superior. I call him the agate magnet. (He thinks nearly every rock he finds it an agate.) I loved stones as long as I can remember and hope to keep the love alive in Frankie, too.
By lindab142 on 04/15/2012 @ 05:52pm
Found the blog on Facebook. It's fabulous! I love agates and jaspers, too.
By Pendant-Heaven on 04/15/2012 @ 08:38am
What a brilliant blog post and with such lovely agates too. Your blogs are always so inspiring. Thank you for including my Brazilian Agate pendant in it.By Guest on 04/14/2012 @ 08:14pm
Awesome post, thank you for sharing :) I wanted to post that quick, so I can go back and peruse the many different pieces and their creator's shops!
By ShanghaiTai on 04/14/2012 @ 08:08pm
You found some great agate pieces to include in your blog. Thanks for including my lotus fire agate necklace among them. I still love those purple druzy earrings of yours! And I'm always amazed at all the information you manage to find about the various gemstones. Sharing!
By ShadowDogDesigns on 04/13/2012 @ 08:39pm
I so agree with you, dragonfyrestudio, about the beauty of agate. You pendant was stunning - it definitely had a place with the other beauties :) Many thanks for your comment. Peace and joy . . . Catherine
By dragonfyrestudio on 04/13/2012 @ 06:33pm
Wonderful blog post. Agates are amazing stones that come in so many shades and patterns. I love natural agates. The pieces you chose are really beautiful. Thank you for including my pendant among such wonderful examples. I'm eyeing those beads now. ^^ By ShadowDogDesigns on 04/13/2012 @ 05:15pm
Thank you so much, KanduBeads, for stopping by and commenting. Have always had a weakness for thunder egg agates and made sure yours was in there. They're beauties! Peace and joy . . . CatherineBy Guest on 04/13/2012 @ 05:11pm
What a fantastic blog post!! Thanks so very much for showing off my thunderegg beads. Thank you so much!! I'm humbled!! xoxoxo from www.KanduBeads.com By ShadowDogDesigns on 04/13/2012 @ 02:32pm
Thank you so much, Augie! I so appreciate the comment, especially since you have been dealing with gemstones for so long. These posts are always fun to write - so fascinating to me (and I hope to others!). Thanks again. Peace and joy . . . Catherine
By TheSilverBear on 04/13/2012 @ 02:27pm
What a great blog! You do THE BEST gemstone blogs, dear Catherine. Seriously!!! Thanks so much for including my Regency Rose piece amongst these other beauties. Off now to promote on Twitter & FB. Love ya. xox |
By craftsofthepast on 02/07/2013 @ 07:08pm
Wonderful blog, Catherine. I enjoyed the interesting stories and learned a lot about the formation of agates. Thanks for writing it!