Fire Agate

NEW FIRE AGATE!
Mined at Slaughter Mountain, AZ. The mine is located on San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, and can only be mined using traditional Apache collecting methods. Only tribe members are permitted to mine, and no blasting or heavy machinery is allowed. Usually Fire Agate is found in rhyolite that makes it pretty easy to remove the agate, but at Slaughter Mountain the matrix is less yielding , which makes it more like trying to get the fire agate out like that of chipping a glass bottle out of cement.

Fire agate is a brown agate which has a botryoidal or grape-like growth form. What is special about fire agate is that it contains layers of plate-like crystals of iron oxide in various planes. The iridescent colors of red, gold, green and, occasionally, blue-violet, result from interference between diffracted light rays traveling through and reflecting from these thin layers.Cutting fire agate essentially reverses nature's process by grinding and polishing away layers, following natural contours, until only the fire is visible. It requires skilful work. Removing too much of the chalcedony reduces the iridescence, while removing too little results in a dull appearance. It is painstaking work and as a result is rarely found in large, mass-produced quantities. Fire Agate is a form of quartz and has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, which make it a great stone for any type of jewelry including rings.

Fire Agate has been available for only the past 60 years.Fire agate is found in only a few locations in the world, mainly in the southwestern USA and Mexico. Deposits are found in the area between Kingman, Arizona and Needles, California, and around the Colorado River. Fire agate has also been found in quantity in some areas of Mexico. Mexican fire agate specimens come from the mines of Calvillo in the state of Aguascalientes. There are dozens of mines around the mountains of Calvillo. Fire agates are also found in San Luis Potosi and Chihuahua, Mexico. Because of the mineral mixture, fire agate from Potosi only have golden fire, rainbow colors are extremely rare.

Special Tucson Introductory Pricing:
Two different 5 gal "Bucket Lots"
1. Mine Run for $1,000 per bucket
2. Graded to have fire for $2,500 per bucket
75 Piece Lot for $300 (this is roughly 3-4 lbs)

Authors' Event to Remember!

 Another year has gone by and it is time for us at The Gem Shop to pack our bags and to Tucson for the 2012 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show. While the Gem Shop isn’t new to the hubbub of Tucson, we all are quite excited about bringing a new event to Tucson this year. The Gem Shop, Inc and the Tucson Showplace are proud to host Johann Zenz, Brad Cross, Roger Clark, Karen Brzys, Scott Wolter, and Hans Gamma for an Authors’ Event to Remember! On January 31, 2012 at the Tucson Showplace, space A-1, each author will speak about their individual books as well as their love of agates and jaspers. There will also be a question and answer session followed by an authors’ cocktail reception.

                This is very exciting especially after the recent release of Agates III by Johann Zenz. This is Zenz’s first trip to Tucson in six years. He has not been to the Tucson show since his first publication of Agates. We at The Gem Shop, are very excited Johann Zenz agreed to participate in the book talk and signing at The Tucson Showplace. 

We are also exited to host newly published author Hans Gamma. Hans Gamma’s book, Picture Jaspers: Treasures of the Owyhee Area, Oregon, published in late January 2012, documents information on over 75 different sites in the canyons of Malheur County, Oregon. The book also contains over 230 pictures of beautiful specimen. Roger Clark author of South Dakota State Gemstone: Fairburn Agate, will also be at the event sharing his expertise on the Fairburn Agate most commonly found in and around the grasslands, badlands, and the Black Hills.

Also attending is director of the Gitche Gumee Agate & History Museum and author of Agates: Inside Out, Karen Brzys. Karen Brzys specializes in exploring and explaining the composition, formation of agates as well as popular locations to find agates. The fifth author featured at the Authors’ Event to Remember is Brad Cross. Brad Cross is well known for his book Agates of Northern Mexico, and his collaboration with June Culp Zeitner on the book Geodes: Nature’s Treasures. The final author, Scott Wolter is known for his extensive expertise on Lake Superior Agates. Scott Wolter is a veteran author whose many publications include, The Lake Superior Agate- Fourth Edition, The Lake Superior Agate- One Man’s Journey, The Hooked X: Key to the Secret History of North America, and The Kensington Rune Stone: Compelling New Evidence. This Authors’ Event to Remember is truly a unique once in a lifetime experience. All of the six authors have never presented at the same time.

          While Gene is in Quartzsite, The Gem Shop and the Tucson Showplace will be buzzing about preparing for this rare opportunity. Tickets are $10 in advance or m$15 at the door and are available from thegemshop.com or by calling 866-377-4666. We can’t wait to see you there!