{"product_id":"agate-geode-b-natural-brazil","title":"Agate geode (B) — natural, Brazil","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eA geode from the ground that made Brazil the agate capital of the world, cut and polished on one face with the rind left raw.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe deposits in Rio Grande do Sul were found around 1800 by German immigrants from Idar-Oberstein, a town that had been cutting agate for centuries and had just about exhausted its own supply. They recognised what they were standing on, and the stone started going back to Germany to be cut. The trade never really left. Today the Salto do Jacuí district supports around 300 companies and several thousand people, most of them small artisanal operations rather than industrial mines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe geode itself is older by a distance. It began as a gas bubble in a lava flow, and silica-bearing water worked in later and lined the cavity in layers until it ran out or the space filled.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eBlue-grey and white, which is the stone's own colour rather than anything added to it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMineral:\u003c\/strong\u003e Agate, banded chalcedony (silicon dioxide, SiO₂)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCrystal system: \u003c\/strong\u003eTrigonal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOrigin: \u003c\/strong\u003eRio Grande do Sul, Brazil\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardness: \u003c\/strong\u003e6\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale; durable, though the polished face will dull if knocked about\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTreatment: \u003c\/strong\u003eNone\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 10.34 x 7.4 x 13 cm\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 610 g                                                                                                                                          \u003cstrong\u003eNote:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eCut face polished, exterior left natural\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eYou will receive the exact piece photographed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Crystal Showroom","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58512780132696,"sku":null,"price":45.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0778\/4880\/5720\/files\/agb-b-1.jpg?v=1789815430","url":"https:\/\/thecrystalshowroom.com\/products\/agate-geode-b-natural-brazil","provider":"The Crystal Showroom","version":"1.0","type":"link"}