Judging quality
Look for extremely fine, evenly spaced banding and natural pastel color. Bright pink or blue examples are dyed.
Chalcedony
Botswana Agate
Fine grey, pink and lavender banding, often with a tiny druzy quartz eye at the centre. Softer and more muted than Mexican agates, and quietly one of the most beautiful.
Care
Hard and easy.
History & lore
Mined near Bobonong in eastern Botswana, where it is a significant small-scale local industry.
Cultural history, recorded as tradition rather than as medical or scientific claim.
Common questions about Botswana Agate
- What is Botswana Agate?
- Fine grey, pink and lavender banding, often with a tiny druzy quartz eye at the centre. Softer and more muted than Mexican agates, and quietly one of the most beautiful.
- How hard is Botswana Agate and what is it made of?
- Botswana Agate is a Chalcedony-family mineral with the composition SiO2. It crystallizes in the trigonal system and rates 6.5-7 on the Mohs hardness scale. It occurs in grey, blush, lavender, banded.
- Where does Botswana Agate come from?
- Notable localities for Botswana Agate include Bobonong, Botswana.
- How do you tell good Botswana Agate from filler?
- Look for extremely fine, evenly spaced banding and natural pastel color. Bright pink or blue examples are dyed.
- How do you care for Botswana Agate?
- Hard and easy.
See it in person
Photographs only go so far
Both rooms are open six days a week, and there is always someone happy to pull pieces out of the case so you can compare them under the light.