John Hasseler: (#H20) BLACK TUXEDO-AGATE RING

A stunning handcrafted BLACK TUXEDO-AGATE RING done by the amazing local Jeweler John Hasseler. Hand made out of sterling silver with a black- tuxedo agate stone. 

JOHN HASSELER: "Having no two pieces exactly alike, John’s unique designs offer the wearer a way to express themselves as individuals in a mass produced world. Originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, John Hasseler studied art at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and earned an Associates Degree in Jewelry Design and Metalsmithing from Northeast Wisconsin Technical Institute in 1982.Since then, he has held the position as Master Goldsmith for retail jewelers in Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Minnesota, and a gallery artist in Hawaii and Minnesota."

Tuxedo Agate is an Agate that was dyed black and has white banding! The natural white lines come through and make a beautiful specialty designer cabochon known as Tuxedo Agate. Sometimes the dye does not get black and is more brownish.  We like to call those cabochons Tortoiseshell Agate. Brazilian Agates are highly prized by cutters because they hardly have any fractures and they can be dyed easily. Agate is a form of Chalcedony, or a microcrystalline quartz. It forms in concentric layers in a wide variety of colors and textures. Each individual agate forms by filling a cavity in host rock. As a result, agate often is found as a round nodule, with concentric bands like the rings of a tree trunk. The bands sometimes look like eyes, sometimes fanciful scallops, or even a landscape with dendrite trees. In many traditions agate is believed to cure the stings of scorpions and the bites of snakes, soothe the mind, prevent contagion, quiet thunder and lightning, secure the favor of the powerful, and bring victory over enemies.