Bindal Gems

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Rock Lore & Tidbits: George Swanson discovered blue lace agate on his farm, Ysterputs Farm, in Namibia, which was called South West Africa at the time. He coined the term "Gem of Ecology" for it because of the swirling blues and whites which resemble clouds above the Earth (the fragile blue marble) as seen from space. The best blue lace agate in the world still comes from the narrow seam on George's farm Blue Lace is one of the most prized agates and has been hard to find lately. The best Blue Lace Agate comes from Namibia and we were lucky to be able to pick up an ample supply of Namibian Blue Lace Agate. Agate is a form of micro crystaline quartz. It is usually formed in nodules and has transparent, or translucent portions. As with all of the other species in the quartz family, agate takes a high polish with cerium oxide, but also takes a fine polish with tin oxide.