At 97 carat this is the largest moss agate in our collection — 106.59 ratti, priced at Rs. 67,900, which works out at about Rs. 700 per carat.

What a collector buys at this size

Past about fifty carats a moss agate stops being a ring stone and becomes something you own for the pattern itself. A hundred carats of translucent chalcedony gives the dendrites room to spread across a face wide enough to read like a landscape rather than a detail. Collectors buy at this weight for the same reason people buy a large slab of picture jasper: the interest is in what is inside the stone, and small stones crop the picture.

What is actually inside it

The cream-white, feathery growths branching through this stone are dendrites — mineral crystals, usually manganese or iron oxides, that grew along hairline fractures in the silica as it set. They are not plants and never were, despite the name. The fern shapes come from a growth pattern that repeats at every scale, the same mathematics that produces frost on a window.

The body here is a warm translucent brown, closer to amber than to anything leafy, and the dendrites sit in the upper half of the dome with the darker chalcedony showing beneath. Hold it to a lamp and the light comes through the brown while the white growths stay opaque — that contrast is the whole appeal of the material.

Shajri aqeeq

The Urdu name is shajri aqeeq, from shajar, tree. It is the same stone the English trade calls moss agate, and the local name is the more accurate of the two: these are branching, tree-like forms, not mossy clumps.

Rate and care

Every stone in this collection is priced at almost exactly Rs. 700 per carat, so the total simply follows the weight and there is no guesswork in comparing one against another. Moss agate is chalcedony, 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale — hard enough for daily wear, though a stone this size is better kept than worn. Warm water, mild soap, a soft cloth; no ultrasonic cleaner and no sudden heat, which can open existing fractures.

Treatment has not been tested on this piece, and we record that rather than calling it untreated. We hold no documented origin for it, so we do not claim one. Dimensions and clarity are not recorded yet — ask us and we will measure before you buy.

This particular stone

This listing is one natural moss agate, known in Urdu as Shajri Aqeeq, with a weight of 97 Carat. Its price is Rs. 67,900 — roughly Rs. 700 for each carat. Treatment: treatment not tested. Quote reference GS-000428 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.