Judging quality
Look for tight, contrasty swirls rather than muddy brown. Color is natural in good Mexican material; heavily saturated pink or purple 'lace agate' is dyed.
Chalcedony
Crazy Lace Agate
Chaotic swirling agate in cream, butterscotch and brick red, formed in Cretaceous limestone in northern Mexico. Sometimes called the laughter stone for how busy and cheerful the pattern reads.
Care
Hard. Water and cloth.
History & lore
All commercial crazy lace comes from a small area of Chihuahua, largely worked by family operations.
Cultural history, recorded as tradition rather than as medical or scientific claim.
Common questions about Crazy Lace Agate
- What is Crazy Lace Agate?
- Chaotic swirling agate in cream, butterscotch and brick red, formed in Cretaceous limestone in northern Mexico. Sometimes called the laughter stone for how busy and cheerful the pattern reads.
- How hard is Crazy Lace Agate and what is it made of?
- Crazy Lace 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 red, cream, yellow, banded.
- Where does Crazy Lace Agate come from?
- Notable localities for Crazy Lace Agate include Chihuahua, Mexico.
- How do you tell good Crazy Lace Agate from filler?
- Look for tight, contrasty swirls rather than muddy brown. Color is natural in good Mexican material; heavily saturated pink or purple 'lace agate' is dyed.
- How do you care for Crazy Lace Agate?
- Hard. Water and cloth.
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.