Crab Fire Agate?

Has anyone else seen the “crab fire agate” that is being sold on
eBay? A true fire agate it is not, but I’m trying to determine what
it is. Nice color, interesting pattern - I just bought a small piece
to see it first hand. Someone on another forum suggested that it may
be snakeskin agate from Afghanistan. Anyone know what this really is
? It stinks of rainbow calsilica…

Brian Corll
Vassar Jewelers

Pretty stuff…wish they would not confuse the issue with some off
the top of the head name. You are right is is definately not fire
agate. I have seen something similar over the years but cannot
remember where. No idea where it is coming from either!

Cheers from Don at The Charles Belle Studio in SOFL where simple
elegance IS fine jewelry!

I just looked up crab fire agate for sale. I dislike using the term
fire agate when talking about it. New stuff may be called what ever
the original producer calls it. The stuff shown as crab fire agate is
not even close to fire agate.

I have seen petrified palm that looks similar to crab ---- .
Petrified dinosaur bone might look similar.

Crab — ---is interesting but fire agate it is not! It has no fire
and no brilliance. Fire agate is a beautiful stone that may come in
many colors. The stone will change colors as you rotate it.

Lee Epperson

Has anyone else seen the "crab fire agate" that is being sold on
eBay? A true fire agate it is not, but I'm trying to determine
what it is. 

How hard is it, and what does it do if you put a drop of acid on it?
The pics I have seen look a whole lot like orange honeycomb calcite.

Lee

Crab --- ---is interesting but fire agate it is not! It has no
fire and no brilliance. 

I’m with you there, Lee-

To paraphrase Samuel Clemens, the difference between fire agate and
“crab fire agate” is like the difference between a lightning bolt and
a lightning bug.

Lee Einer

Has anyone else seen the "crab fire agate" that is being sold on
eBay? A true fire agate it is not, but I'm trying to determine what
it is. 

This is not fire agate, looks actually like either a type of
agatized coral, or honeycomb calcite as suggested earlier.

Sure the pattern has a kinda fiery look. But true fire agate would
be similar to opal. Having color, within color that moves or flashes
out. visit fireagate.com for examples of real fire agate.

takecare
Shain

Lee,

I haven’t received the piece yet, so no tests. Calcite, eh ? I’ve
gotten a different answer from everyone I’ve asked. The only thing
I’m sure of is that it is not a fire agate.

I just looked up crab fire agate for sale. I dislike using the
term fire agate when talking about it. 

I just looked it up too and I agree…but I have a solution.
There are loads of us on this site. We are for the most part all
jewelers. Why don’t we all as a group, simply refuse to call it
“crab fire agate”, (because it is not), and simply all call it “crab
agate”? They can invent names, we can invent names, or in this case,
adjust them. In any case, it was no doubt named by the guy mining
and cutting this stone and trying to sell it. Guess it sounded hot.
Should any of us hear anyone calling this stuff any kind of “fire
agate”, we can gently correct them and point out the distinct lack
of “fire”. Why denigrate a perfectly lovely stone to elevate an
exceedingly ugly stone in order to make it saleable? Agreed?

Lisa, (Plume agate used to be called, “skunk agate”. Now that was a
good idea) Topanga, CA USA

Hi Brian

One of my suppliers has some of these and calls it orange agate, no
more - no less. They get most of their stuff from China so my guess
it is in that part of the world. I saw it on an exhihbition and it
looked nice and felt like rock but I didn’t buy any.

michaela

Crab --- ---is interesting but fire agate it is not! It has no
fire and no brilliance. Fire agate is a beautiful stone that may
come in many colors. The stone will change colors as you rotate it. 

Lee’s dead on about this one folks…

To see some nice fire agate… Go to, of course…

http://www.firegate.com

Ab-soul-lutely gorgeous stuff…

Gary W. Bourbonais
A.J.P. (GIA)

I see different appearing stones on different sites called crab fire
agate. In one instance the stuff looks like a poor grade of fire
agate cut sideways . The other one has the definite pattern to it
that you have been talking about. I wonder if you would get this type
of a pattern out of certain botroidal calcedonies cut just under the
surface. There is a type of calcedony in Oregon they call turtle
back. The pattern there is much more subdued and gives a somewhat
glisteny appearance just because of the alignment of the
microcrystalline calcedony.

Rose Alene McArthur