The semi-precious stone agate comes from the mineral chalcedony. It is a fine-grained and fibrous variety of the mineral. It has irregular clouding and colored bands. An individual agate forms once it fills a cavity in the host rock. It could be found in concentric layers and come in all kinds of textures and colors, ranging from transparent to opaque. It has a hardness of 6.5 to 7.5 on the Moh's scale. It has various intricate patterns such as blue lace, Indian, green, moss and Kentucky.



It was a naturalist and Greek philosopher, Theophrastus who gave the name agate to this semi-precious stones. He was the one who discovered the stone as it was lying on the shoreline of the Achates river sometime around the 4th century BC.

In the past, agate was actually regarded with high value as an amulet or a talisman. It was believed to have the ability of quenching thirst as well as protecting from fevers. It has been said that agate could render the wearer invisible. As a cooling stone, agate was also said to protect against danger, promote strength and healing, cure insomnia as well as ensure an overall healthy and balanced life.

Agate has a lot of uses in the industry today. It is primarily used to create ornaments like brooches, pins, paperweights, inkstands, seals, marbles, paper knives and a lot more. Due to this stone's hardness and the ability to effectively resist acids, it has been used in making mortars and pestles that are used to crush as well as mix chemicals. It has also been used for leather burnishing tools.