Black Agate, Dyed and/or Heated, Heishi One 4x2mm Strand

Black Agate, Dyed, Heishi, 4x2mm.

  This price is for one strand 15 to 16 inches long.

 4x2mm strands have 145 to 150 pieces.

Agate is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, consisting of a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks.

Hardness 6.5-7

These beads are dyed with the introduction of coloring agent into a gemstone to give it new color, intensify present color or improve color uniformity.  

Heating is a very common form of enhancement and is used to affect desired alterations of color and/or clarity. Heating can also be used to lighten or darken a stone. Heat is one of the conditions that cause gems to form, whether in the ground or in a lab. Heating occurs during natural gem formation. But heating applied to the stone after gem formation is an enhancement.

These beads are cut, drilled and polished in China.