~*Fire Agate*~
Mark and I will be visiting the Deer Creek fire agate mine in Arizona later this month. We’re participating in the Deer Creek Fire Agate Invitational offered to jewelry artists this year by the mine owners.We’re very excited to see one of the more famous mines producing one of our favorite gemstones:)
Fire Agate is described as a variety of agate containing inclusions of goethite or limonite, producing an iridescent effect or “fire”.The color layers are often described like breath on a pane of glass. The thin layers in this material diffract light back to the eye in rainbow patterns of red, green, yellow and blue. The beautiful colors in fire agate may appear as tiny pinpoints, bubbles, bull’s eyes, flashes, specks, swirls or even as a combination of patterns making for endless possibilities. The world’s fire agate deposits stretch from southwest United States to northern Mexico. Fire agate has been reportedly found in at least 15 locations on Arizona such as Slaughter Mountain and Deer Creek.
These are photos of various fire agates from our personal collection~
This is one of our favorite fire agate gems displaying a pattern described as “the molten effect” or the “crackle effect”.
This is when the finished stone displays internal fissures of color, something like cooling lava.
Multi-color fire agate with a combination of patterns~*
This is a fire agate gem with an incredible eye-like banded pattern.
We call this gem “The Snake Eye”.
An incredible fire agate hand carved to expose the gem’s natural fire layer.
This beautiful Slaughter Mountain fire agate has a mirrorlike or metallic
look that is very unusual.
The colors refract with extraordinary brightness including the “royal
mist”, which is a pink-purple,
transparent colored chalcedony layer
above the primary, opaque colors.
~*This super bright stone comes from Aguas Calientes Mexico~*
~*Powerfully purple, this gemstone comes from Slaughter Mountain Arizona~*
Purple fire agate gemstone with fringe colors of green,red,blue and yellow/gold.
This is rare variety of Fire Agate showcasing an uncommon spray of sagenite needles~
Purple based fire agate with lots of floating bubbles~
Fire Agate pendant by Jessica Dow and Mark Anderson
“California Poppies”
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Michael Johnson 01.15.09 at 6:23 pm
You guys must have great will-power. I would just be walking around with those in my mouth all day :o)
Kathy Johnson 01.16.09 at 12:12 am
Oh, beautiful stones! Do you guys cut these yourselves? If so, do you have any tips for someone who’s never cut a fire agate before? (Fire Agate Cutting for Dummies, perhaps?)
msadesigns 01.16.09 at 7:23 am
HI Kathy, Some of these were cut by Mark but some were cut by other various fire agate carvers. I can give you a couple of helpful links for learning how to carve fire agate.. this is one~
http://www.fireagateartstudio.com/cuttingguide.html
I can write to you with some more info… send me an e-mail to dow_jessica@yahoo.com and I’ll forward you some worthwhile reading on the subject:)
Thanks for the nice comments on our gem posts!
shelbyvision 01.16.09 at 9:46 am
Those are gorgeous pictures, as were your dinosaur bone pics. I bookmarked your web page for future reference.
Teri 01.16.09 at 5:31 pm
Wow, these are fantastic! They are so colorful and bold they almost look like dichroic glass. To think these are natural stones! Glorious selection, how will you ever part with any of them? Teri S & T Creations Twitter: Teri_B
http://www.sandtcreations.com/wordpress
http://sandtcreations.etsy.com
Gary W. Bourbonais 01.18.09 at 12:11 am
Great pictures of some fine fire agate…
The thing about pctures of fire agate, it’s almost impossibe to do it justice…
If you find these pictures intriguing, definitely find some to see in person…
I had seen many pictures of the material….
The first time I saw some in person I was literally dumbstruck in awe….
Ryszard Krukowski 01.26.09 at 5:27 pm
Hey, those are some great stones… they sure are hard to photograph, and I think you did them justice! Its cool to see that someone posted the cutting guide I wrote with my Dad. I run http://www.fireagateartstudio.com to the best of my abilities and my family has several claims in Deer Creek ^__^
I spotted your work randomly on Deviant Art, its really nice. I always enjoy seeing other people who appreciate Fire Agate and the intricacies of its cutting. Feel free to contact us via email for more tips… my dad has been cutting the stone for like 30 years now…
ryszardk@shaw.ca
http://www.fireagateartstudio.com
Don Lindberg 01.28.09 at 12:07 am
My quest for fire agate has led to cold nights in the desert. Somehow I found this site which is as bright as the raw fire agate I have found. I am just learning how to cut and polish and I am curently practicing on some questionable material.
Mike Sturma 08.10.09 at 8:46 pm
30 years ago I was exposed to Fire agates by the man that owned part of DEER CREEK FIRE AGATE mining co.I do not remember his name though. I was stationed at Fort Hood Tx. at the time. I used to make silver Jewelery for the man and he paid me in rough stones……….. Now 30 years later I wish I had some of the rocks he gave me as I am starting to get back into lapidary and silversmithing.
frank 08.23.09 at 8:45 pm
You have some fine looking pieces. About 12 years ago I met a elder of Navajo descent,who was a lapidarist extaordinaire and a master silversmith, tought by his father who was tought by his father and so on. He did everything in the triditional ways.He didn’t even realise he was a genius in simplicity. Anyway we met and he took me under his wing. About 5 years after i started studying under him, he had major issues with his eyes and within a matter of months he was blind,and could no longer continue his lifes work. Just before becoming totally blind he asked me over for what i thought was to be my last lesson. To my supprise he took me out back of his house to large shed ,in which i’d never been. he opened the door and inside was a lapidarist’s and silversmith’s dream.his own children over the years had given him just about every known tool,machine and gismo associated with either trade. He then told me he wanted me to have everything in that shed. there were three slab saws ,trim saws ,tumblers ,foredoms[ plural] each with flex shafts and chucked hand toll attachments .diamond grinding wheels ,casting equipment. you name it ,it was there. also along with all of this there was at least a ton of rock which had been collected as far back as his great,great grandfather . which brings me to me real point of this post . Among the rocks was a five gallon bucket of windowed slaughter mountain fire agate that was collected before there were any mines as we know today .He claimed some of it was found as far back as 200 years ago,and to look at I believe him. the colors and itensity of the fire in this agate is beyoud belief even before any polishing is done. I am very careful and protective of each and every piece i have as each will eventually be passed on as jewelery to my family and a select few friends who have vowed never to sell any piece i make. in polishing i have had some wonderful success with 50,00o-160,000 diamond paste,after of course agoing over with tin oxcide mixed with a little cerium oxide. My friend has passed , but everytime i step into my shed/workshop i think loving of him. And each time i pick up one of the rocks he gave me i make a promise to work it untill perfect which i find at times seems imposible,when i think of my teacher and how easy he made it look. thanks for this review board.and may every piece of rough you start with turn into perfection.