Southern Red Agate is highly sought after by Tibetan friends

Southern red agate, with a fiery red color and a delicate and oily texture like jade, has been known as “red jade” since ancient times. In Xu Xiake’s Travels of the Ming Dynasty, it was described that when Xu Xiake came to a place called the Agate Mountain in Yunnan, he saw an agate embedded in the cliffs. “The color of the moon is white and red, which is not very big, just like a fist, which is also a tendril. Then he went deep, and the place where the fruit is formed is as big as a rising, as round as a ball. This is the best agate, which cannot be encountered suddenly.” It said that the South Red Agate.

Nanhong agate is a unique variety in China, with a scarce production. It was already mined out during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and its price sharply increases every year. The Southern Red Agate was used by ancient people as medicine to nourish the heart and blood. People who believe in Buddhism believe that it has special effects. The red pearl (true pearl) in the seven treasures of Buddhism refers to the southern red agate. The key to identifying its characteristics is to place the South Red Agate close to the strong light, and when viewed against the strong light, it can be seen that the red color of the South Red Agate is formed by the aggregation of countless cinnabar dots, which is a characteristic that other agates do not possess. If the South Red Agate is very red, it cannot be penetrated by light. With the development of geological exploration and the discovery of new ore veins, the southern red agate on the market is mainly from new mines in Baoshan, Yunnan and Liangshan, Sichuan.

The common colors of southern red agate are persimmon red, bright red, and pink from Gansu, as well as the uncommon purple red and the transparent or semi transparent variations of these colors, including the nearly transparent colorless, which are roughly defined as the color range of southern red. The color texture is gelatinous, and colors other than persimmon red and bright red are composed of extremely small dots.

The superior South Red Agate and the old South Red Agate are rare in the world, and the Chinese people have a special preference for red. There are few natural red gems and jades in nature, and Ruby is too expensive to carve. Precious coral is soft and easy to erode. South Red has a good degree of moisture and thickness, beautiful color, and is suitable for carving and processing. Its appearance just meets the needs of people for red gems and jades. These factors are destined to increase the collection value of Southern Red Agate day by day.