It's no heart of the ocean, but what is it?

April 5, 2018 12:10 PM

Some time ago I was given this medallion necklace (front of medallion, back of medallion, medallion and chain), and now that I would like to sell it, it would be helpful to know what kind of stone it is for my eBay listing description. Can anyone identify it? Sardonyx or carnelian is my best guess, but I'm no gemologist. If it helps, it was purchased in Turkey. Bonus points if you can tell me what the necklace is worth (the trim and chain are silver).
posted by orange swan to Grab Bag (4 answers total)

I'd call it a banded orange agate. It's very pretty. ( I've got a minor in geology, but I'm also not a gemologist.)
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 12:46 PM on April 5, 2018 [2 favorites]

Does it have any stamp or maker's mark on it? It's most likely not worth more than sentimental value -- silver is cheap, and the stone is semiprecious at best. If it were a designer you could track down, that might lend it a bit more value.
posted by fiercecupcake at 1:07 PM on April 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

I make jewelry, buy semiprecious stones regularly and have handled cut specimens similar to your pendant. I agree that it's agate. Silver in itself doesn't raise the price enough, this will strictly be in the costume jewelry range i.e. less than 50USD. I'm not in your part of the world so I hesitate to give an an exact price.

I suggest searching for agate pendants with silver chains online in the US and see what is charged, minus a reasonable discount since this is not new.
posted by whitelotus at 8:21 PM on April 5, 2018

Agree, it's agate. But I think it's dyed.
posted by humboldt32 at 2:27 AM on April 6, 2018