home/mineralworldagates/                                                                                                   Europe/Germany/Nahe-Region/Idar-Oberstein/ Setz Quarry

The Setz quarry - now closed, formerly well known for its excellent amethyst-geodes - produced some very fine agates too. In the upper levels of the quarry it was possible to find nice banded blue to red-coloured agates.

Very typical for the location are agates that are showing shadow-effects to the viewer. Very often the agates are intergrown with carbonates. Sometimes little inclusions of chalcopyrite - a copper-ore -  in little triangular shaped metallic masses can be found. In the right parts of the quarry, near to the forrest, the agates were mostly brownish coloured. Sometimes this type of agate was showing “Membrantrümmer-Formations”.

Very typical for the quarry were the so called “concrete-eggs” e.g. nodules filled with a greyish chert and no or only few agate-formation. Very rare pseudomorphs after needlelike formed crystals ( maybe zeolithic minerals) were found.

The simularity between agates from the Setz quarry and the Steinkaulenberg gemstone-mine is caused in the lavaflow, which booth locations are situated in.