Crazy Lace Agate Cabochon

Crazy Lace Agate is a banded chalcedony that's infused with iron & aluminum & is brightly colored & complexly patterned. This complexity produces creamy browns, blacks, grays, golds & occasional pinks or reds swirled together in this stone.

Agates are created after a volcanic explosion has transformed magma & lava into igneous rock. During the cooling down period, various gases form bubbles, which then become hollow spaces in the igneous rock.  Agates are formed long afterwards, when silica-bearing water permeates the rocks & begins to fill the hollow spaces.  Sometimes the hollow fills quickly & the resulting Agate is a solid color or has a random scattering of trace inclusions.  Depending on which inclusions are added, the Agate will take on a variety of different colors, patterns & transparency levels.

In the case of Crazy Lace Agate, later geological activity heated & softened the original agate, pushing & bending the bands into lacy patterns.

Crazy Lace Agate was first documented in 1895, but was not actively mined until the mid-20th century. While most Agates in the region were formed roughly 38-44 million years ago, Crazy Lace is found exclusively in a limestone layer that dates back to the much older Cretaceous Age (90-64 million).

Spiritually, Crazy Lace Agate is a stone of happiness, laughter, and good fortune. It is also said to be a stone of strength and courage.