To identify an agate, look for the following key characteristics:
- Distinct banding: Agates have natural, concentric layers or bands that change color and are usually slightly translucent. The banding has depth and texture, unlike fake stones which may have painted or artificial bands.
- Natural coloration: True agates exhibit uneven, natural colors such as earthy or vibrant shades of gray, white, blue, pink, or red. Bright, uniform colors may indicate artificial dyeing.
- Cool to the touch: Agate is a type of quartz and feels cool even when held in warm surroundings, unlike plastic or resin imitations.
- Weight and hardness: Authentic agates are heavier due to their mineral composition and have hardness of about 6.5-7 on the Mohs scale, making them difficult to scratch with metal or glass.
- Translucency: When held up to light, agates often have a cloudy or slightly hazy translucency that distinguishes them from other stones.
Additional tips include wetting the stone to better see the banding, and checking for textures like "potato skin" or geode formations in some types of agates. These combined factors help verify if a stone is a real agate.
