Sunday, July 5, 2020

GREEN TREE AGATE: NOT A PLANT


  IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE BOTTOM 

 

Green Tree cabochon on a shell

 

 

 Green Tree Agate is an absolute delight to work with! With a Mohs hardness of 6.5 to 7, it takes a bright polish, which I always find satisfying.  

 At first glance, it's easy to understand why "agate" isn't the first thing that comes to mind when you see it.  The color is milky white, with no translucence. Also, it's not banded, but it is microcrystalline silicon dioxide, and it is still considered a member of the agate family. 

 

 
Goose in the Garden

 

 

 

This piece of Green Tree was unusually pitted and I was just horsing around with it when a Goose appeared. He's looking left and I don't think he's very happy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DENDRITES OR MOSS?

Then there are the green patterns. Sometimes, they're called "mossy", but in reality, they're dendritic. As far as the color goes, it's not the copper I first thought. It is a combination of manganese and iron oxides. 

 

Those dendrites are what make this stone so much fun to work with. It's almost like watching clouds in the sky, as you look at it, different shapes and stories come alive.  That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that unlike bands in agate, dendrites are in constant motion throughout the rock. The story you see on the slab can easily disappear or become a whole different story as you shape it.

 

Blowing Tree

 

 

When I was making the cabochon at the left, I saw a green sapling in the forest bending over in a storm.

 


 

Frozen Creek

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I especially love the almost-clear quartz and the darker white material in this cab, to me it looks like a half-frozen stream with evergreen trees along the shore. What do you see? 

 Green Tree agate is most commonly found in Brazil, India, and Uruguay and other colors of dendritic agate can be found in other areas of the world including the U.S.

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE

While I love writing the blog, and have since 2016. I find I must take a break from it for a bit. Thanks for your attention and comments. I really appreciate them.  If you have a lapidary topic you'd like me to cover when I restart, please let me know by responding in the Comments section or write me directly at Donna-at-LapidaryWhisperer.com

 

Sincerely,

 

Donna, Your Lapidary Whisperer