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Gem Profile May 18: Moss Agate and Plume Agate
by Rose Marion, Wire-Sculpture.com
Moss Agate and Plume Agate, one in a Series on Quartz
Shop Agate Beads | Shop Moss Agate Cabochons | Shop Tree Agate Cabochons | Shop Green Spot Agate Cabochons
Just as there are many kinds of included quartz, there are several varieties of included agate. Sagenite agate, or sagenitic agate, has needlelike inclusions in a sunburst or fan shape, and come in a variety of colors. Here’s an example of a neon yellow sagenitic agate! Dendritic agate, such as Montana agate, just like its quartz counterpart, has thin, dark, tree or branchlike inclusions. Plume agate has featherlike inclusions that resemble smoke, clouds, or feathers. Finally, moss agate has the appearance of green moss, seaweed, or blue cheese on a translucent background. Moss agate is the most common and most well-known included agate for jewelry makers.
Some rockhounds don’t consider these included agate stones to be true agate because they do not have the concentric typical of most agates banding (banding formed in gradually larger circles that share a center point). However, they are definitely part of the quartz-chalcedony-agate family of silica minerals, formed from silicone dioxide. In fact, Montana agate and Plume agate are among the top tier of agates in jewelry making, surpassed only by rare stones such as fire agate.
Moss Agate
Moss agate is typically a green agate with pale to translucent patches of stone; tree agate shares the green, moss-like inclusions but has white opaque patches, rather than translucence.
Montana moss agate is unique in that it originally formed in the volcanic region of Yellowstone National Park. Now it can be found in the gravel of the Yellowstone River in Montana, and typically has red (iron oxide) and black (manganese oxide) large inclusions on a translucent background.
Plume Agate
Plume agate draws its name from the fluffy, feather-like shapes it exhibits. There are several types of plume agate, including Priday, Graveyard Point, Del Norte, West Texas, and Mexican Plume. This plume agate is from Texas; I have a cab of Texas plume agate that shares the same gold, orange, green, and white colors.
In Tucson, I saw Graveyard Point Plume Agate for the first time: this distinctive golden, tan, white, and gray-blue (and sometimes pink) agate is named for the stone’s location, found in the Owyhee Mountains along the Idaho-Oregon border, near the burial place of an 18th century massacre.
Priday plume agate is another name you may come across, which was a rare plume agate found on the Priday ranch outside Madras, Oregon, round in thunder eggs. However, this agate is practically played out. You can find pictures of beautiful Priday Plume agate stones here.
The Regency Rose variety of plume agate is located near the Graveyard Point area and has the tan hues of that stone as well as reds and pinks.
Next week, I will cover some agate you may have wire wrapped, or seen in person: thundereggs, geodes, and I’ll also touch on crazy lace agate. Have you made wire jewelry with thunderegg agate, geodes, or crazy lace agate? Send your agate pictures to tips@wire-sculpture.com, and they could be featured!
Resources
- Dandy Slab Saginitic Agate
- Agate with Inclusions
- Minerals N More Graveyard Point Plume Agate
- Wikipedia Moss Agate
- AZ Blue Rockers Priday Agate
Gem Profile by Rose Marion
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