Dwarves' Earth Treasures Online Rock Shop: Crazy Lace Agates
Sierra Santa Lucia, Ejido Benito Juarez, Chihuahau, Mexico
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The Crazy Lace Agates
may be one of most well-known agates coming from a main mining site surrounded
by many smaller claims (different lace names) in Mexico for they
are widely used in many lapidary arts. The name "Crazy Lace" refers to
the irregular and geometric patterns resulting from agates encrusting and
later replacing the large calcite crystals lining the fissures within the
limestone formations. Since the miners tend to break up the Crazy Lace
agate veins into clunks with explosives and heavy tools, any agates with
whole patterns are somewhat scarce. The most common colors are red, yellow,
white, gray and black, but they can come in a wide spectrum of colors (I
have yet to see purple ones).
