Colorful, 4.5" Polished Condor Agate Section - Argentina

Condor agate is a highly prized gem-quality agate from the Mendoza Province of Argentina. Most specimens feature fine red, brown, and black banding, but colors can vary into blues, greens, and even whites. They are relatively new discovery, only discovered in 1993: they make a wonderful addition to any mineral collection.

About Agate

Agate is a variety of microcrystalline quartz (chalcedony) that displays translucence and, in some cases, banding. Agate primarily forms when silica-rich fluids fill pockets within rocks and/or fossils, depositing the silica along the walls of the rock. This process can result in banding patterns, as the compositions and impurities of these depositing fluids change over time. These banding patterns can either form as flat layers, creating linear patterns known as waterline agate, or as rounded layers, forming more common ring-like patterns. These patterns depend on the surfaces available for deposition.