Wonderful Information about Dendritic Agate and the jewellery that uses this stone.

Dendritic Agate (or Moss Agate) is the name given to any common opal with tree or fern like silicates or manganese oxides. The stone's more popular marketing title is Merlinite (i..e the Crystal Bible) and it is also know as Dendritic Opal.

According to the Oxford Dictionary the word Dendrite refers to a a natural tree-like or moss-like marking on a rock or mineral. Common Opal is Silica that has no uniformed structure and therefore there is no play of colour. This is why calling the stone an Agate and not an Opal is more correct (see our section on boulder Opal for more information)

But my guess is that the people who started the marketing thought that using the word 'opal' rather than 'agate' sounds better and would sell better (simular to the marketing of Pink Opal).

The magnaese oxide which is the back part of the stone is an excellent balance to the white, we find this stone very popular because of the black and white contrasting colours - our customers tell us that this wonderful stone goes with many types of clothing and the patterns are amazing and strikingly realistic.. I am often reminded of winter landscapes (Japaneese/Chinese paintings) and looking up through the trees to see the moon above.

The best stone is mined in the northern part of Kazakhstan, one of the former soviet republics. This stone looks especially good if it is cut as a thin cabochon, when the
trees are distinctly seen on the semi- transparent background. Here in Australia there is alot of the stone in rough at the Local Gemshows.

The famous Russian jeweler Carl Faberge, who was the Supplier of the Russian Imperial Court from 1885 to 1916, used Dendritic Agate together with diamonds and other precious
stones for his works. You can see how wonderful this stone is in these two examples...

The chemical formula is SiO2. The composition is silicon dioxide. This mineral has a level 7 hardness and a specific gravity of 2.6 - 2.7.

Color : White and black, fern like patterns in them

Mohs scale hardness : 7

Specific gravity : 2.6 - 2.7

Here are some wonderful picture of the amazing stone.

For some Quality Sterling Silver Jewellery With this Stone Amazing Stone as the Centrepeice Click here