Mykkhul97 Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 I had purchased a lot of Madascar banded agates, and it looked too good to be true. So one was broken only to find a clear, banded pattern underneath about a millimeter thick colored outside. If one is like this, then I presume all is. I have spent alot of money purchasing these just to be fake? Please help me to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 It is a real agate that has been dyed. The dye only penetrated so far. 1 My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykkhul97 Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 Is this common? Does it make it less collectible or valuable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 3 minutes ago, Mykkhul97 said: Is this common? Does it make it less collectible or valuable? It is common and less valuable than undyed agate. 1 My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykkhul97 Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 Is it hard to find undyed banded agate from Madascar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seguidora-de-Isis Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Agate that has been dyed? The Chinese sell tons of these Madagascar banded agates on our favorite auction site ... I tried participating in 3 auctions to buy one for my collection of minerals, but lost in all 3 auctions. But now seeing this post, I'm very happy to have lost the 3 auctions, and I feel very sorry for who won... Thank you for sharing! Is It real, or it's not real, that's the question! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykkhul97 Posted November 3, 2018 Author Share Posted November 3, 2018 They are pretty, but I guess what do you expect for the price. I did get my refund though. I usually stick with Lake Superior agates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike from North Queensland Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 My understanding is most agates are dyed. The Australian ones seem to be the exception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 Another thread on my namesake stone. I used to sell agate geodes, sliced agates and agate tumblestones in my shop. The majority of them were dyed. The ordinary customer thought they were prettier and they sold 50 times faster than the genuine ones, only sought out by collectors. We were always honest about what we were selling but the vast majority of people still preferred the 'fake' ones. It became increasingly hard to get natural pieces. The Germans started the modern process about 200 years back. Before that organic dyes had been used, but these don't take very well and fade quickly so inorganic dyes were introduced. When inorganic solutions are used it is called "Forced dyeing". With the layers in a banded agate you find different layers of porosity so the dye takes darker or lighter or not at all in non-porous layers. First the agates must be boiled in a concentrated bicarbonate solution and then are treated differently according to colour. For brown and red results iron nitrate solution is used for about two to six weeks depending on the shade of brown/red required. Then the stones are slowly heated and cooled to stop them flaking. The process can be repeated if necessary. 7 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 Learning that agates are dyed is bothersome to me. I own just a few and now will be bothered by this each time I look at them. I looked into how to remove the dye. Here are the best suggestions I found for anyone interested: Albert Mura March 18, 2009 08:13PM As a chemist who spent year working on dye stability for Kodak, I would be careful making generalizations about dyes. First it might be a pigment instead of a true dye, that would greatly change its properties. It sounds from what Rock is saying is that the "dye" is being formed in place by a two step reaction process, that means the "dye" itself in mot being absorbed into the agate but two or more smaller dye precursors that react inside the agate structure. If that is the case you now have a larger molecule that might not come back out. In that case oxidizing the dye with bleach or some other small oxidizing molecule would be the only way around the problem. But as Steve mentioned you may introduce another color (reduced form of the dye) such as brown. Without knowing the actual dye structure one can only make an intelligent guess as what to do. Most non-metalized dyes will fade in light but metalized or pigments might not given the structure. Jerry pelletier May 12, 2009 06:35PM Since agate is a hydrated crystal, it makes sense to dry the agate in an oven at 400 for an hour or two or three and cool it in a dessicator or at least in a closed container with calcium chloride (ice melt) Then soak it in bleach for a day or two, followed by a week long water soak. You should have success, and you won't be waiting for months or years. Michael Miles May 12, 2009 09:15PM I put some ping-pong ball size agates that were dyed a very bright pink into my vibrating tumbler with a 500 fine grit for 7 days and then followed with a 2 day polish in aluminum oxide and it did the job...no pink left and they were a very shiny "no color" agate. So if you know some one and the slab is thick enough they could re-surface both sides for you. the quotes are from Mindat 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 10 hours ago, Mike from North Queensland said: My understanding is most agates are dyed. The Australian ones seem to be the exception. There is a lot of dyed agates on the market, but there is a lot more that has natural colors, some very vivid. 1 Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seguidora-de-Isis Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 On 11/03/2018 at 4:01 PM, Mykkhul97 said: They are pretty, but I guess what do you expect for the price. I did get my refund though. I usually stick with Lake Superior agates Actually I wasn't expecting the price, but yes I was hoping for a posting like this to know if it was worth or not to spend so much money on it. Excellent posting, but I'm sorry this happened to you. Is It real, or it's not real, that's the question! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykkhul97 Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 On 11/10/2018 at 12:40 AM, Seguidora-de-Isis said: Actually I wasn't expecting the price, but yes I was hoping for a posting like this to know if it was worth or not to spend so much money on it. Excellent posting, but I'm sorry this happened to you. I am sorry if you misunderstood, that's not what I meant. Don't get me wrong, they are beautiful! We are not to mention the cost, I meant if you pay low price, most times they are dyed and common. Not always though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves64 Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Real agate, fake tan. Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seguidora-de-Isis Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 41 minutes ago, Mykkhul97 said: I am sorry if you misunderstood, that's not what I meant. Don't get me wrong, they are beautiful! We are not to mention the cost, I meant if you pay low price, most times they are dyed and common. Not always though. Hahahaha. No, please, do not worry, because I did not mind. I meant that when the Chinese sell it on our favorite auction site, auctions always end up with very high prices, and I would not mind paying for a specimen, as long as I was sure it was real. That is, I expected someone to buy, and that someone would break it in the middle and then show the result to us. Please do not worry about this, quite the contrary, I was very happy to know that someone finally broke it in the middle, just sorry it was you. Glad you got your money back. Besides that, unfortunately there is the language barrier, because unfortunately I do not speak English, only Spanish and I use Google Translator for everything, and I even lost at the TFF World Cup of our dear friend @Tidgy's Dad for not speaking English, But in four years I'm going to win, because now I'm taking an English course. hahahahahah. My best regards my dear friend Mykkhul97! 1 Is It real, or it's not real, that's the question! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 23 hours ago, Seguidora-de-Isis said: Hahahaha. No, please, do not worry, because I did not mind. I meant that when the Chinese sell it on our favorite auction site, auctions always end up with very high prices, and I would not mind paying for a specimen, as long as I was sure it was real. That is, I expected someone to buy, and that someone would break it in the middle and then show the result to us. Please do not worry about this, quite the contrary, I was very happy to know that someone finally broke it in the middle, just sorry it was you. Glad you got your money back. Besides that, unfortunately there is the language barrier, because unfortunately I do not speak English, only Spanish and I use Google Translator for everything, and I even lost at the TFF World Cup of our dear friend @Tidgy's Dad for not speaking English, But in four years I'm going to win, because now I'm taking an English course. hahahahahah. My best regards my dear friend Mykkhul97! No, no, no, no my friend from so far away ! In four years time, I have decided I will win. Cos I will cheat. Hugs, Adam. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jet Posted February 11, 2023 Share Posted February 11, 2023 I just ordered one off online auction site, and I agree, it looks like there's a wrap or film on it, to make the stone look pretty, but underneath, it just looked like a white/ clear banded agate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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