Madagascar Agate

[Diamond.heart]

I got assigned to help sort and log some new rough for our workshop, and a batch came in labeled madagascar agate. At first glance, I was stoked because some of the pieces had these wild reds and greens that popped way more than what I've seen in natural agate, handled a few afterwards and checking them under water and light, I started wondering if they'd been dyed, used to be a collector so I'm still new to lapidary work, so I asked one of the cutters here, and they just said "yeah, that's madagascar for you" and left it at that. Is dyeing that common with Madagascar agate?

 

[Dorry]

Do you think customers would actually care if sellers openly admitted most Madagascar agate is dyed, or would they still buy it for the colors alone?

 

[CityDweller]

I got assigned to help sort and log some new rough for our workshop, and a batch came in labeled madagascar agate. At first glance, I was stoked because some of the pieces had these wild reds and greens that popped way more than what I've seen in natural agate, handled a few afterwards and checking them under water and light, I started wondering if they'd been dyed, used to be a collector so I'm still new to lapidary work, so I asked one of the cutters here, and they just said "yeah, that's madagascar for you" and left it at that. Is dyeing that common with Madagascar agate?

you know, the dyeing process for agate is quite old and well established. It takes advantage of the stone's porosity to absorb color. It's not necessarily 'bad,' but it's important for collectors and lapidaries to be aware of it