Page 125 - GUIA TURISTICA DEL URUGUAY EDICION 2017

seMipreCioUs sTones

Semiprecious stones called agates are compact microcrystalline varieties
of chalcedonic quartz. They are found in volcanic rocks and are formed by
hot magma and gas bubbles. They are characterized by concentric bands
or rings of different shades, alternating between opaque and translucent
bands, brown agate.

There are different colors, blue, violet, brown, pink, green, gray and black,
but they are often stained artificially to highlight the color.
The name agate is derived from the Latin word Achates, which is a river

in southern Italy, in Sicily, where the first stone agate is said to have
been found. They were appreciated from ancient times and from different
guia turistica del uruguay
cultures, such as Arabic, Indian and Egyptian.

Agates have the property of absorbing and transforming negative energy,
which is why they are used to harmonize environments and people. They
can be placed in the house or carried with them in the form of jewelry or
directly carry the stones in the pockets.

For those people who are interested in stones only because of their beauty,
a variety of crafts are made with them, such as jewelry, ornaments and
mortars, as they have the characteristic of being resistant to the blows
and it is difficult to break them. They are extracted in the north of Uruguay,
in the department of Artigas from the year 1860.

Mines of Artigas
The mines are located in the Catalan Grande, Seco, Cuaró and Tres Piedras Semipreciosas
Cruces basins, as well as in the bases of the Yacaré, Belén, Cururú and
Catalan mountain ranges. There are mines in other parts of the world such
as Madagascar, India, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the United States.

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