Agate

Agate is a translucent variety of microcrystalline quartz. It is the name given to numerous varieties of banded Chalcedony, a mineral of the Quartz family. Its name comes from the Achetes River in Sicily, where Agates were first found. Agate generally forms by the deposition of silica from groundwater in the cavities of igneous rocks. The agate deposits in concentric layers around the walls of the cavity, or in horizontal layers building up from the bottom of the cavity.

These structures produce the banded patterns that are characteristic of many agates. Some of these cavities are lined with crystals and those are known as geodes. Agate Usually banded in layers, or stripes, some varieties have "eye" markings, or specks of color, some have fossilized inclusions, and others are solid. Called the earth rainbow, the concentric bands of Agate form in nearly every color the earth can produce, including a colorless form. Historically, Agate has been discovered with the artifacts of Neolithic people, and was used as healing amulets and ornamentation dating back to Babylon.

Its medicinal uses continued through the ancient Greek and Egyptian civilizations, and spread throughout Africa and the Middle East into Russia. Agate sparked a world renowned stonecutting and polishing industry in Germany that flourished from the 15th to the 19th century, and exists today.