What is an Agate?
Do you love the beautiful semi-precious stone agate? We live on a beautiful planet with a rich geological history, and many lovely gemstones are dug out of the core of the earth. One of the more plentiful and varied of these gemstones is agate. Agate is classed as a semi-precious stone and is a variety of chalcedony that is banded in different coloured layers. Agate is also a very finely grained gemstone and is found in many different and vibrant colours, such as blues, greens, browns, reds and white. Blue and green agate is the most desirable colour as it tends to be rarer than the other agate colours. The uniqueness of each individual agate is that patterns and colours are never repeated and that there seems to be an infinite amount of possible colour and pattern combinations. Agate can form in lots of different types of rock, but is mainly associated with volcanic rocks and ancient lava flows, where the agate forms in cavities in the rock. The agate forms by siliceous matter forming in banded layers on the walls of the rock cavity. It is only when the nodules of agate are transversely cut that the banded appearance of the semi-precious stone becomes apparent.
History of Agate
According to ancient tradition, agate was given its name by the Greek naturalist and philosopher Theophrastus who had found some agate specimens along the banks of the Achates river in south western Sicily sometime between the 3rd and 4th century BC. Agate was a semi-precious stone commonly used in antiquity for hardstone carving and many examples of carved agate have been excavated from key archaeological sites such as the Minoan palace Knossos on the Greek island of Crete. Agate was also utilised by the Sumerians, the Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Greeks to make jewelry, beads and religious decorations. In ancient times, agates were also worn by warriors going in to battle as it was believed that agates protected the wearer from danger and boosted their courage in times of adversity. Agate was also thought to be a powerful talisman against thirst and high fevers wholesale costume jewelry.
Where is Agate Found?
Agate is one of the more abundant gemstones found in the earth’s crust and is mined in many parts of the world. The usa is probably one of the biggest agate producers, but agate is also found in Germany, India, Egypt, Mexico, Brazil, Nepal, Italy and Madagascar. Because agate is found in so many states of the USA and is such a popular gemstone, several varieties of agate have been designated the state gemstone for a number of US states including Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee, Montana, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Arizona.
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