Fire Agate

Item Description

A beautiful classic polished piece of Fire Agate from the premier area in the world for the material. Fire Agate is at its finest from Aguascalientes, certainly the finest examples of Fire Agate ever found. Agate is defined as form of Chalcedony or microcrystalline Quartz which forms in layers in a remarkable variety of colors and textures. The most familiar Agate is the banded agate which has multicolored layers. Fire Agate is one of the rarest forms, notably visually different from most other Agates you'll see, as it brown Agate which has a botryoidal or grape-like growth form. What is special about fire agate is that it contains layers of plate-like crystals of iron oxide (limonite) in various planes. The iridescent colors of red, gold, green and, occasionally, blue-violet, result from interference between diffracted light rays traveling through and reflecting from these thin layers. High quality Fire Agates can be as impressive in their play of color as fine Black Opal, but Fire Agate is significantly more durable than Opal. Fire Agate is suitable for any kind of jewelry, including rings. This piece is a great example of this well known material, polished on the display side to better show the rich golden, orange yellow and green tones when the piece is rotated in the light. The botryoidal forms and high polish on the surface are both excellent. It should be noted that Fire Agate has only been available commercially in the last 60 years.