A 46.7 carat polished moss agate — 51.32 ratti — at Rs. 32,700, about Rs. 700 per carat.

Why the polish matters more here than in most stones

In a faceted gem the cut does the work and the polish is a finishing step. In a dendritic cabochon the polish is the work. The pattern you are buying sits inside the stone, and you only see it through the surface — so any haze, any orange-peel texture, any fine scratching from a worn wheel puts a veil over the picture. A properly finished cabochon looks wet. A mediocre one looks like a photograph behind frosted glass.

Chalcedony takes polish well

At 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale, moss agate is hard enough to hold a mirror finish and fine-grained enough to take one evenly — unlike coarse-grained materials that pluck and pit. That is a large part of why agate has been cut and worn for several thousand years while softer decorative stones stayed decorative.

This stone

A translucent warm brown body with cream-white dendrites branching through the upper half, domed as an oval cabochon with a smooth, unbroken surface. Light passes into the brown and stops at the white growths, which is what gives a dendritic agate its sense of depth: the pattern genuinely sits at a level below the surface rather than on it.

Keeping the polish

Warm water, mild soap, a soft cloth. The things that dull a cabochon are grit and the inside of a jewellery box shared with harder stones, so store it separately. No ultrasonic cleaner and no sudden heat — dendritic agate contains the fractures the dendrites grew along, and thermal shock finds them.

Priced on the same flat rate as every stone here, about Rs. 700 per carat. Treatment has not been tested, which we record rather than calling the stone untreated. No documented origin is held for it. Dimensions and clarity are not recorded yet; ask and we will measure.

This particular stone

This listing is one natural moss agate, known in Urdu as Shajri Aqeeq, with a weight of 46.7 Carat. Its price is Rs. 32,700 — roughly Rs. 700 for each carat. Treatment: treatment not tested. Quote reference GS-00096-1 when you message us about it. The photographs show this exact stone, so what arrives at your door is the piece you chose on screen.

Above twelve carats you are into collector territory. Pieces this heavy are usually set as pendants or kept loose, and they are prized for the size of rough they came from. If you do set it, choose a bezel or a heavy claw to protect the edges.

On the Mohs scale moss agate rates 6.5 to 7. That is middle-of-the-road hardness: comfortable in pendants and earrings, and in rings worn with some care. Store it apart from harder stones so it does not pick up scratches, and wipe it with a damp cloth rather than scrubbing.

Whoever you buy moss agate from, make sure of three things: the stone is natural rather than lab-grown, glass or glass-filled; any treatment is stated in writing; and the weight quoted is the weight of the finished stone. We check every moss agate for those three points before it is listed, a certificate is available on request, and because you pay on delivery you can look at the stone — or have it tested — before any money changes hands.

We sell natural stones only and inspect each one before it is listed. Treatment for this stone: Treatment not tested. Certificate available on request. As general background (not a statement about this stone): Moss agate (shajri aqeeq) is usually untreated. Ask us on WhatsApp and we will tell you what we know about this exact stone; independent lab testing is available on request.

A certificate of authenticity is available on request for this stone, and independent laboratory testing can be arranged. Because you pay on delivery, you can also take the stone to a lab of your choice within the 7-day return window. Read more on our authenticity page.