Fire Agate

Item Description

Fire Agate is a distinctive and fairly rare variety of Agate which has been available commercially for only about 60 years. You can seee that the material is visibly different from other Agates as it is a brown hue with a botryoidal or grape-like growth form. The unique aspect of Fire Agate is that it contains layers of plate-like crystals of iron oxide (limonite) in various planes, which create 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 "Freeform Cabochon" is a nice example of this well known material, showing gorgeous gold-yellow, reddish-orange and slight greenish flashes which dance over the botryoidal forms when rotated under strong lighting.