Melton's Lapidary Collection

Jewelry and Cabochons

Agate

What Can Be said of Agates?

Agates are chalcedony, micro crystalline quartz, a silicate, SiO2, that is hard with a Mohs scale of 7. It is a beautiful stone found everywhere. Though common in occurrence, varieties can be shaped, polished, priced and worn as fine jewelry. It appears with concentric bands, colorful intrusions and is often translucent. It is an ancient semi precious stone, the second gem in the Hebrew’s High Priest’s breastplate, and its beauty has captured the lapidary’s imagination for millennia.