A natural sulemani agate – sulemani hakik – of 8.10 carats, about 8.90 ratti, at Rs. 5,700 – roughly Rs. 704 per carat, the highest rate in this category by a few rupees.

Hakik, aqeeq, agate

Hakik (also written haqiq) is the name used across the subcontinent for agate; aqeeq is the Arabic and Urdu form of the same word; agate is the English. Sulemani narrows it to the banded kind. All of them describe one material, chalcedony, and none of them indicates a grade. A seller using the Urdu name is not offering you something different from a seller using the English one.

What "original" can and cannot mean

Original here means natural chalcedony – a real agate, not glass, not plastic, not a pressed composite. That much we stand behind.

It does not mean undyed, and it does not mean laboratory-certified. Both are open on this stone: there is no lab report and the treatment has not been tested. Sulemani is sometimes dyed to sharpen the contrast between its bands. Anyone who tells you a banded agate is certainly undyed without a report in hand is guessing.

This one's colouring

It carries the most pale-grey tone of any stone in this group: about 16% of its face reads as grey, where the rest sit under 8%. The grey-cream band runs over a deep red body. Even so it is not a grey stone overall – about 72% of the face reads as a warm colour – and it is certainly not the black-and-white sulemani the name often suggests. Nothing in this category is.

Its banding is also the gentlest here, varying by about 29 units of lightness across the stone against 59 at the other extreme. Expect a soft transition rather than sharp stripes.

Hardness

Agate is chalcedony at Mohs 6.5 to 7, with no cleavage planes. Tough against knocks, mildly vulnerable to the slow dulling that household dust causes over years of wear.

Care and ordering

Warm water, mild soap, a soft cloth. No ultrasonic cleaner, no steam, no bleach. One stone, sold once. Message us on WhatsApp for more photographs, and we deliver across Pakistan.

This particular stone

This listing is one natural sulemani agate with a weight of 8.1 Carat. Its price is Rs. 5,700 — roughly Rs. 704 for each carat. Treatment: treatment not tested. Quote reference GS-SU-0004 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.

From six carats up a stone becomes the centre of attention. It wants a broader shank or a secure claw setting and suits an occasion ring, a signet or a centre pendant. Clean natural material of this size turns up far less often, and the per-carat rate reflects that.

On the Mohs scale sulemani 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 sulemani 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 sulemani 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): Sulemani agate is sometimes dyed to sharpen its banding. 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.