Have a look at my Art Fire Shop or my Etsy Shop for my handmade jewelry containing Agates and other gemstones!

Check out the Wikipedia entry for Agate to get to the nitty gritty!

The world of agates is a very colorful one. Mother nature has an amazing palette that she paints with, but man has found the need to interfere with that. Why? I’ll never know. But, it happens.

The current trend in bead land seems to be taking perfectly wonderful Crazy Lace Agate and dying it bright colors. It’s a wonderful stone with great earthy colors, including rusty reds and oranges. NEVER will you find this stone a bright blue, purple or pink in it’s natural state. This is one of my favorite stones to work with. It can have these amazing orbs and lines combines with translucent layers that let you see deep into the stone and see the layers of growth. Lower grade Crazy Lace Agate can have less of this banding and look like the bands have been “broken” then scattered around.

A good rule of thumb to keep in mind when buying agate beads: Bright purple, blue and pink are not natural agate colors.

Mexican Crazy Lace Agate Beads.

Another agate that’s a bit hit in the bead market right now is something called “Crab Fire Agate”. I put it in quotes because it is a trade name and not the real name of the stone. I have some issues with this stone.

1. What it really is? Carnelian that’s been heated to near breaking point to create those spiderwebs inside. AKA Spiderweb Carnelian (Carnelian is an agate, which is Chalcedony, which is Quartz)
2. True Fire Agates have an amazing play of color in them, similar to Fire Opal, and are not common, or cheap. To see the real deal, check out www.fireagate.com and prepare to be amazed!

What makes a good Agate bead?

• Polish – smooth and glossy with little to no surface pitting or scratches
• Drill Hole – solid and smooth with no fissures cracks or chips radiating from the hole
• Color – This is purely up to the buyer, if YOU like the color, buy it!

Those are the two things I look for in my agate beads. In general, because of the hardness of Agate, they tend to be some of the best drilled stones with large drill holes and an even finish. They also come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes including rounds, stars, and various animal fetish shapes.

Botswana Agate Ring

There’s a lot more that I’ll be adding to this page, but I wanted to make sure that I got this posted for those of you who asked! Check out the links throughout this article and start your own exploration. If you have any questions, just ask!

Blessings.

Peace.

Joy

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