In ancient times agate was believed to be a powerful talisman often carried to ward against thirst and to protect one from fever.  Persian magicians used agate to divert storms.

Collecting agate bowls became common among European royalty during the Renaissance and many museums in Europe, including the Louvre, have spectacular examples.

Mithridates, king of Pontus accumulated a collection of around four thousand agate bowls which shows the enthusiasm with which agate was regarded.

Mithridates, king of Pontus

Agate bowls were also popular in the Byzantine Empire.

Agate mining in the Nahe River valley in Germany, which was already documented in 1497, gave rise to the cutting-centre of Idar-Oberstein. Originally, the river was used to power the grinding-wheels. When the Nahe agate deposit had been exhausted, in the nineteenth century, Idar-Oberstein's cutters started to develop the agate deposits of Brazil, which sparked off exploration and the discovery of Brazil's rich deposits of amethyst, Citrine, tourmaline, topaz, and other gemstones.

Idar-Oberstein Famous church photo

The small town of Idar-Oberstein is still known for the finest agate carving in the world, although it now imports a huge range of other gem materials from around the world, which are then cut and carved in Germany and Asia. Cameo master carvers and modern lapidaries flourish along with rough-stone dealers who scour the world for the latest gem discoveries for export.