The chalcedony was thick enough on this piece of Fire Agate to allow carving of a full stone ring. The design of this ring was formed naturally by the configuration of the fire layers, creating a very organic shape.  I decided to put a silver insert to finish off this ring to add strength and security. 

High quality Fire Agates are wonderful to work with because the amount of options provided by the intense fire layering. Choosing the right layer to stop at can be tricky! This stone traveled over 5000 km before returning to my work bench for a second look! To achieve a maximum coloration, I removed some of the top layers of red fire, exposing more of the under-laying green. This created a new bulls-eye effect, which complements this stone nicely and creates a finer higher quality finished piece. Knowing when to stop the cutting process with Fire Agate is extremely difficult but with luck, the right tools, and skill, re-cutting some already finished pieces can bring out new treasures.  Re-cutting your own work can be frustrating at times because is illustrates your previous mistakes but Fire Agate is always just asking for a second look (or third)!