Rarely does a stone gets to be a pick of a collector, but in the Arab world the Agate, known as the Aqeeq stone in Arabic, is proving to be a collector’s item not only because of the banded colors, but also for its artistic shape.
Aqeeq is one of the most famous, artistic and sometimes overpriced gemstones in the Arab world, and the pricing is dictated by its color and the way it is shaped — carved or naturally-evolved.
Agate is an ornamental stone consisting of a hard variety of chalcedony, defined by the Webster dictionary as a translucent, grayish or milkish form of quartz in which the microscopic crystal are packed together in parallel bands.
Aqeeq is found in various parts of the world but the more shaped and colored varieties, which make the stones famous, come from Yemen, India, Germany and Latin America. The stone most favored in the Arabian market usually ranges from bright orange to reddish orange, known as “liver color” in the region.
What makes Aqeeq more interesting and precious than other gemstones is the formation of natural shapes that sometimes resemble Arabic words, human figures or just artistic contours. Being a volcanic gemstone, the melted minerals inside the stone form the shapes and figures that become a signature part of the stone. It also determines the pricing.
Some Aqeeq dealers use lasers to carve certain shapes or words in the stone. But despite their efforts, they cannot match the high price a naturally-formed stone fetches. Some stones could cost more than SR200,000.
“The Aqeeq stone has its collectors and the business is so big that an underground market is booming,” says Hussain Al-Amoudi, a gemstone dealer at the Balad area of downtown Jeddah. He also said that agates, which do not have special shapes, too are in the market and the connoisseur can buy them for as much as SR50.
Al-Amoudi, who is a collector of rare shapes of Aqeeq, said that he has a number of stones that are worth more than SR50,000. His shop lists gemstones of different shapes and colors, rosaries and rings. In addition, a number of framed newspaper clippings that talk about Al-Amoudi’s business hangs on the walls.
The most expensive Aqeeq are those that have religious resemblance such as the name of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) or the shape of the Kaaba of the Holy Mosque in Makkah. “Those shapes are rare, but I have seen some during my trading years and they would fetch as high as SR100,000,” he said.
While talking to Al-Amoudi a Yemeni resident came with an Aqeeq stone that had a natural shape of a hawk. “This resembles the United Arab Emirates hawk and I’m offering it for no less than SR80,000,” he said, adding that he would fly to the UAE and try to sell it in Dubai.
Salem Ba-Bakur, a Yemeni gemstone dealer in Balad area, said that most of the naturally-shaped Aqeeq come from Yemen, and in a small stall by Qabil Street in the heart of downtown Jeddah, Ba-Bakur, has a secret stash of a few rare Aqeeq stones that contain human faces. “I have a couple of rare Aqeeq stones that contain shapes resembling women with a veil and another one of a bird,” he said.
His stones are offered for no less than SR5,000 and they can be placed on a silver ring or a medal as requested by the customer, he said, adding that some stones have special healing power.
He said that he had seen a dealer with a ring that contained a natural shape that resembled the late King Abdul Aziz. “The ring had a natural figure that resembled a famous picture of the late king and it was offered for SR100,000,” he said, adding that the stone also came with a certificate from a government agency that stated the originality of the stone.
“In this business, we are always on the hunt for the rarest shapes,” he said adding that he sometimes flies to Brazil and other countries in search of rare shapes that could make a collector happy.
