Indian Agate Sterling Silver Pendant Necklace

This necklace is created with beautiful Indian Rondell Agates, with Swarvoski crystals snuggled in between in subtle shades of pink and olivine green to compliment the colors of the agate. At the center is a beautiful .999 Sterling Silver button pendant handcrafted and kiln fired by our Artisan SaM and then treated with antique black wash and polished to shine.

The clasp is a handcrafted sterling silver hook and eye. This piece of art measures 16" in length.

Product Information:

Color: Agates come in most colors, and is stable enough to be shaped into a variety of shapes and sizes. Agates range from transparent to opaque in a variety of beautiful colors. It presents various tints in the same specimen. The stones can be artificially stained to produce combinations of color more vivid than those found in the natural state.

Chemical Description: SiO 2 Agate is a semipellucid crystallized quartz, consisting of banded or with branching inclusions chalcedony . Physical properties of agate are in general those of quartz.

Agate has irregular, sometimes circular bands of color and often replaces fossil wood. Many fossils are agatized material where the original organic substance has been replaced by agate while retaining the original structure. Agates are identical in chemical structure to jasper , flint, chert, bloodstone , and tiger-eye , and are often found in association with opal .

The colorful, banded rocks are used as a semiprecious gemstone and for making mortars and pestles. One will often see these in beads, agate pendants and necklaces.

Name Origin: Agate derives its name from the Greek. According to another theory the word Agate comes from the Greek name of a stone found in the Achates River in Sicily, now known as the Drillo River, which still remains a major source of this stone.

Birthstone: Agate is the birthstone of Taurus (Bull): April 20 - May 20.

Wedding anniversary: Agate is the anniversary gemstone for the 12th year of marriage. Moss Agate is the anniversary gemstone for the 14th year of marriage.

Varieties: There are several types of agate. Varieties include Blue, Blue Lace, Crazy Lace, Green, Indian, Moss, Tree and Wood. The Moss agate or mocha stone contains visible impurities in the form that resemble moss.

Care and treatment: Agate will chip and crack rather easily though it has a hardness rating of 7. As with all gems, protect agate from scratches and sharp blows. Avoid sudden temperature changes and household chemicals.

History: Agate was discovered with the Stone Age man in France 20,000-16,000 BC. The Egyptians used it prior to 3000 BC. Agate was highly valued by ancient civilizations. Said by the ancients to render the wearer invisible. The agate-working industry grew up centuries ago in the Idar-Oberstein district of Germany, where agates were abundant.

Sterling silver is a white, highly reflective precious metal typically composed of 925 parts of pure silver and 75 parts alloy, usually copper. Copper provides the silver with sufficient hardness and wearing qualities, as pure silver is sometimes considered too soft to be used or worn everyday. Sterling silver is used in a wide variety of jewelry for a beautiful polished look. The pendant on this necklace however is actually made from Silver clay that is actually .999 pure Sterling Silver, the other part is a very small degree of water and binding agent that when fired heats out the water and leaves a pure form of sterling silver.