Price Per Piece (Image is representative)

Sourced: India

Size: 50-70mm (diameter)

A petrified miracle of creation – most deserving of this kind of finely sensual description is agate. Agate is found all over the world. And wherever it is found, nature has left very special and unique traces in it.

A manifold variety of colors and forms in stone – this is why collectors love agate

Agate gems are unique items, and no stone is identical to the other; after all, they are typical stones for collectors. Once you have found one, you may find yourself drawn to collecting as many as possible. Agates are artworks of nature, regardless of whether they are hewn from rocks or quarries, drilled from mines or collected in sandy deserts, even if the inherent beauty of the stone is not yet apparent in its raw state. However, passionate collectors know just how beautiful and naturally inspiring the “images” are that agate conjures up once it has been processed, or rather cut and polished. The right cut reveals the fines of images, geometric, organic and symmetrical forms, confusing images in a magnificent play of colours, each in every case a petrified miracle in stone. Any onlooker will feel immediately enticed not only to marvel at the fantastic but instead to interpret them and to discover familiar forms or objects in them. 

The fact that aesthetically pleasing agates are popular among collectors and jewellery manufacturers alike is not least due to the extremely varied manners in which they can be processed. For many millennia now and until the present day, agates have been used to adorn, decorate and artistically enhance objects such as cups, jewelry boxes, snuff tins and dishes. Agates were used in jewelry since the dawn of time and have been, for many centuries, among the most coveted gemstones. Engraved agates have been found as gems or cameos from the era around 3,000 BC. Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians engraved layered agate by tearing cracks in it using harder stones such as corundums and garnets, thus revealing the underlying, differently colored layers. Agates in the form of eyes were particularly popular as amulets, as they were reputed to protect their wearer from the “evil eye”. During medieval times, agates were particularly popular for their magic properties, but the Renaissance viewed them mainly as material for use in dishes and vases. Even if their significance has declined since earlier times, agates continue to be an important feature in jewelry design. Drum-shaped stones, cut to be velvety soft, or agates in the form of donuts are worn as ethnically inspired jewelry. A few designers even dare use uncut agate with its open, organic structures in order to produce modern jewelry with these sparkling miracles of nature.