Pricing chart of Agate

Another peculiarity of agate in comparison with other kinds of chalcedony is that it is translucent, banded, and even displays a wide range of colors.  These are colors that result because of the traces of oxides, which include chromium, nickel, iron and titanium among others.  Suppose you have ever seen an agate, you might be wondering what a costly or valuable work can be, only because it sheds such loveliness in your eyes.  It is quite rare all the way compared with most other gemstones, but you might not consider it as costly as you might assume.

The majority of agates are extremely cheap and only fetch a price of at most: $1 to $20, but there are certain types that fetch a much better price.  This is in the form of hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars.  It may be confusing, but at least, knowing the pricing factors that play at play, it will at least provide you with a better idea in what an agate is truly worth.

You want to get a piece, say, of agate slab or you want to find out the price of your agate stone, we will see.

enquire about the average value of an agate.  Since the variables are so numerous, hopefully, this guide can guide you in some way.First, we should discuss the factors of pricing and the way they can influence the price of agate.

Primarily, the price of agate will be pegged on a limited number of factors which are:

• Type

• Quality

• Rarity

• Location where it was mined

• Size

• Color pattern

• Natural vs dyed

The many types

By the way, I want to speak about the numerous varieties of agates as there are several to remember.

The most common form of agate is banded because they are located in all parts of the world, including Brazil.  Most of these banded agates are colorful and possess numerous colored layers with different degrees of beauty.  Depending on the aforementioned factors, banded agates fetch between 10 and 100 and above.

Your tumbled agates are another variety that are widely favorite, and are generally smaller, about an inch or so.  Common varieties of tumbled agates can be sardonyx, blue lace, tree agate, etc.  It will generally cost you 2 to 15 or so in retail store, online or otherwise.

Then moss agates will contain mossy inclusions of mineral oxides which provide it with a mossy appearance.  Two of the most common names will be dendritic agates which are formed in the shape of branched and feather like patterns will be called plume agates.  

Fire agates are vivid and bright in color which is usually red and orange.  It is not as common of an agate and is typical of volcanic regions, like Mexico, and that is the fire effect which attracts the collectors.  

Fire agate is most commonly utilized in jewelry, and you are not going to come across fire agate in the form of a slab or a home decoration.  

A small 20 mm tumbled item can be purchased as a few dollars, based on the quality, but an AAA gem quality item can cost much more than 80 dollars a karat.  It is not uncommon to find pieces of fire agate far into the five hundred to a thousand dollar price plate.

Lace is another form of agate, but is a tender stone which is banded too, but swirls more than a banded agate.  

Lace agate is largely common in Mexico and is characterized by the lace-like patterns.  A slab of uncut blue lace agate can be obtained at a reasonable price of a few dollars, say 10-15 at the most, but the thicker slabs are in the range of 15-30+ depending on the size and grade.

All varieties of agate, as you may see, may influence the price, and once again other elements are involved.  Let’s continue.

Color patterns

The patterns of colors that can be exhibited by agates are enormous.  Indeed, nearly every shade of color imaginable is available in natural agate like blue, green and red, just to mention a few.  As it is more or less stated in the intro, the coloring of an agate will highly depend on the oxides traces that were present in the stone during its formation.  Some of the oxides that have an impact on the colors include chromium, nickel, manganese, iron among others but these are the most popular.

At this stage individual preference may enter the scene.

You might get a higher price tag with what appears to be a rare agate slab color wise at least provided that someone is prepared to pay the price.  That is what can be said of anything, right?  

Weight

As with the majority of gems, the weight is able to significantly influence the price, but we would like to elaborate upon this difference.

When we are discussing rough agate, then be ready to pay between x and x/ pound/ kilogram but when we are dealing with high quality jewelry/ polished pieces then it will be in carats as opposed to the weight.

Clarity

The more transparent an agate is, the higher its price can be.  Therefore, in case you can bear an agate to the light, and can see right through it, then it is said to be a better sort.  An unspotted quality stone will neither have any black spots, nor any inclusions at all.  Remember this is not true of agates that already possess inclusions like moss and dendritic agates.

Dyed vs. Natural

Regrettably, individuals will stain agates to make them pretty and without the knowledge of many, they think that they have the real agates when in actual sense, they do not.

It is not very unusual to find dyes or counterfeit glass which is similar to agate, but be still on the lookout. And your neon-laden colors, like blue and greens, are usually dyed.  Close attention will interest you to observe the bands in the agate whether they run.  When they are runny, then most likely it is dyed.

Your dyed agates will never be much, you see.  They are quite cheap actually, but, to certain individuals, there is no issue with purchasing dyed agates; they are simply purchasing it because of the aesthetic they perceive.

Rarity

Finally, and, lastly, we shall discuss the rarity. In case it is a type which is not that prevalent as the rest, it may be significantly more expensive. The scarcity is largely caused by its place of extraction. As an illustration, a fire agate that had been mined in one of the dead mines would be highly expensive compared to a tumble agate rock that had just been taken off a Brazilian boat.

Ultimately, there are so many factors that are involved, and therefore, it is difficult to answer. This will give you some idea, perhaps, of the value of the agate you are considering. Your results will vary.