Red and White Agate Mala Bracelet

Description

A red white agate mala bracelet settles on the wrist with immediate, grounding weight. The stones are banded in crimson and cream, each pattern formed by silica layers deposited across thousands of years. No two beads read the same.

Agate has been worked by lapidary workshops in China for over two thousand years, the craft concentrated in provinces like Shandong and Yunnan. Red and white banding in agate results from iron oxide concentrations within chalcedony, a microcrystalline quartz that forms slowly in volcanic cavities. The pairing of red and white carries significance in East Asian traditions, where the contrast is understood as a meeting of complementary forces. Artisans select and pair beads by diameter and banding symmetry before stringing.

This bracelet is strung on elastic cord, allowing it to fit most adult wrist sizes without a clasp mechanism. Each bead measures approximately 8mm in diameter. A standard strand holds between 21 and 27 beads depending on wrist circumference. The agate surface is polished to a smooth, semi-glassy finish that reveals the internal banding clearly under natural light. Banded agate registers 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale, durable for daily wear. Total bracelet weight is approximately 15 to 20 grams, light enough to wear continuously without awareness.

Red and white agate mala bracelet. Natural banded chalcedony agate beads, approximately 8mm diameter, on elastic cord. 21 to 27 beads per strand depending on wrist circumference. No clasp required. Origin: China. Material: natural banded agate, chalcedony variety. Format: mala bracelet.

Two forces, balanced in stone. A bracelet that carries two thousand years of lapidary knowledge. Artisan d’Asie sources from established Chinese bead workshops with generational expertise.