Dragon Vein Agate – What Are the Oddities?

The dragon vein agate is a hardy variety of quartz which has only recently become popular as a table companion for its many other counterparts in the family of agates. This family includes, but is not limited to: chalcedony (also known as “ceramic”), amphibian (also known as “rossberry quartz”) and apatite (also known as “windstone”). It was only in the 1990’s that we began to see a surge in interest in this type of agate as a table companion, and what is most surprising is that it is not only found in American, but in European and Asian countries as well.

The dragon vein has small, needle like projections that run in a spiral pattern from one base to the next, each of which ends with a pointed tip. These needle-like projections look like little vines and can be either white or translucent. In some varieties of this agate, the vines have also developed tiny knotty growths at their tips. These can be as short as a pinhead, or as long as an inch or longer.

What does this mean? These needle-like growths on the ends of these agate veins are actually growths on the faces of the individual veins. The term “trophy” comes from the fact that these veins bear a striking resemblance to a dragon’s scales, and the name “Dragon” is based on this association. Each of these dragon vein agates has unique striation patterns which bear a resemblance to the scales of a dragon.

Although the agate needle-like growths are small, they are very striking, especially when they contrast with the rest of the crystal clear vein that runs through the center of the agate. These striation patterns can vary from being smooth and delicate, to striated and frayed. In addition, if two opposite sides of the needle-like projections appear, they often point to either orientations of the crystal clear vein. These orientations can tell us a lot about the growths, including their age and whether or not they have been growing for some time.

Another thing that can tell us a lot about the agate’s age is their color. Agate with color in the form of red, orange, yellow, or green are younger and therefore may be much older than the clear needle-like projections. It is not uncommon to find agate with orange and red colors that are nearly black. However, if the growths are red, orange, yellow, and green, they could simply be old, and not much older than the agate.

Most gem dealers agree that a good quality loose diamond should never be handled without a fine-toothed comb to remove any matting and luster that may exist. For this same reason, the same agate should not be handled without using a similarly fine-toothed comb on the inside of the stone. The outside edge of the dragon vein agate, when pulled from the background, reveals the interior agate. This is a very valuable commodity because the inside agate can reveal its own unique internal qualities. Many buyers like to see this side of the agate before making a purchase.