Big blue faceted agate

[bumblebee]

I've been on an agate kick lately which finally landed me a 7/8"+ faceted blue one. That's the second one I've ever found in 3/4" and above.

From my experience, the green ones are even harder to find but of course all it takes is one nice score to change those stats.

On that note, there are some very nice shooter sized machine-ground blue and green bullseye agates that I believe are from Brazil and are definitely older. I've always wondered whether German immigrants to Brazil brought their dyeing techniques and quality control to produce those. There was a big surge of German emigration to Brazil in 1920-1929 of 75k people, almost four times the number the decade before and after.

[rockgardenplants]

Very beautiful blue color!

[machinemades]

Can’t elaborate on Brazil German connection but you are right on green dyed  agates being harder to find than blue.

[hdesousa]

Carskadden's book on Colonial Period Marbles mentions the Germans depleting their source of agate in the early 1800's and having large quantities shipped to Idar Oberstein from Brazil.

Also, "In 1827, emigrants from Idar-Oberstein discovered the world's most important agate deposit in Brazil's state of Rio Grande do Sul. As early as 1834, the first delivery of agate from Rio Grande do Sul had been made to Idar-Oberstein."  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idar-Oberstein

Some large dyed agate marbles from Brazil have facets.