Blue Lace Agate & Pink Opal Flower Bracelet

Description

Pink opal is a particularly interesting stone. Known for its delicate pink hues, this gemstone is a variety of common opal, a mineraloid composed of primarily hydrated silica. Pink Opal has a non-crystalline structure and forms like other opals through the desposition of hydrated silica into voids or fissures within rocks called vesicles. It’s commonly found in sedimentary rocks, especially in regions with historical volcanic activity. The pink colors are believed to be the result of trace amounts of iron and organic compounds within the silica structure.

Notable deposits of Pink Opal are in Mexico, Nevada and Oregon, Australia, and the Andes Mountains of Peru where it enjoys a rich cultural history and has been mined for centuries. The Incans believed the stone to be a sacred gift from the goddess Pachamama and that it contains her nurturing and life-giving energies. It has been used as a symbol of fertility and growth in the region for hundreds of years as a result.

Discovered in Namibia, Blue Lace Agate is a variety of chalcedony, which are minerals that contain a microcrystalline structure and belong in the quartz family, that is known for its powder blue and white banded or lacy patterns that give it its distinct and attractive appearance. The soft blue color is attributed to the trace amounts of copper, manganese, and iron present in its chemical composition.

The formation of this gemstone typically occurs in vesicles, (cavities) as nodules or geodes of volcanic rocks after they’ve cooled, such as basalt. As silica-rich solutions derived from groundwater and other mineral-rich sources pass through the porous volcanic rock, layers of microscopic silica are deposited onto the inner walls of the vesicles as it crystalizes. Over a long period of time, these layers create the bands characteristic of Blue Lace Agate.

Agate gemstones have been values all over the world for thousands of years, with archaeological evidence of their cultural significance dating back to the Neolithic Era. The name “Agate” comes from the Greek philosopher Theophrastus who named the stone for the Achates River, (now named Dirillo River).