Quartz var: Agate (var: Iris Agate) (rainbow iridescence)

Item Description

Here we have a beautiful polished slice of what is referred to as Iris Agate (sometimes called Rainbow Iris Agate) from a recent discovery in Indonesia. Iris Agates have been known for decades, most famously found in Brazil and Montana, but the Indonesian material is just as colorful and the quality is excellent. This material is a unique and hard to find variety of Agate that forms in the fine banded layers, but when the pieces are THINLY sliced and viewed through transmitted light, you will see a brilliant rainbow iridescence shine through. Now you can't see the rainbows in ordinary lighting situations. We took a video of this piece in a dark room with a solitary light source (a cell phone camera light) behind it at a distance of a few feet. It's the best way that we can illustrate the rainbow iridescence, so if you're having a hard time replicating the effect at home, you have to find the right background and lighting combination to see it. You can see that the nearly colorless zones of the Agate show the rainbow flashes brilliantly, and they are very difficult to capture in a photo or video, but I will say they look as good if not better in person. This piece is 100% natural, no dyes or treatment whatsoever, this is what a good Iris Agate looks like. The quality is as good as anything else I've seen on the market. I love the fact that this piece is complete all the way around, and the outer "rind" is completely intact with a little crystallized "hole" in the center. For reference, the old classic Iris Agates from Montana sell for big money these days, and these new pieces from Indonesia are just as good in my opinion, so don't miss out on getting your hands on a showy and fine quality example for a great price. Most of the Montana Iris Agates are not complete slices like this piece either, they're usually only partial sections of the complete Agate. The piece weighs 5.82 grams.