Material reference

Fire Agate / Fire Quartz (Imitation Glass) · Alab na Hinubog

Scientific identity, documented history, and community contexts are presented with sources. TÁWID’s contemporary design interpretation is identified separately.

Material identity

This catalogue entry is manufactured imitation glass. It should be distinguished from natural fire agate, a chalcedony material with very thin layers that produce iridescent colour. GIA describes natural examples with goethite-bearing layers and colour created by light interacting with that fine structure. A flame-like pattern alone does not establish the same mechanism in a glass product.

“Fire Quartz” is also not a precise mineral species name. In this entry, “imitation glass” is the most important identification statement. The commercial name can describe the visual design, while material composition and manufacturing details require separate information. [1]

Documented historical context

The references do not establish a discovery date or ancient use for this exact glass product. Glassworkers have long reinterpreted stone-like appearances: Corning’s Favrile “Agate” vase, dated about 1897–1899, is one documented example.

For natural fire agate, GIA examines a specimen from the El Terrero mine in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Its layered chalcedony and goethite-bearing structure explain its iridescence. That geological history belongs to natural fire agate, while the present catalogue material is manufactured imitation glass. [1] [4]

Philippine and community context

The National Museum’s Philippine archaeological ornament collection includes glass. A late-nineteenth–early-twentieth-century Philippine panel in the Met combines glass beads with cotton, documenting the medium in textile beadwork. These objects do not identify the modern fire-patterned imitation, but they demonstrate historical Philippine work with glass adornment. [2] [3]

TÁWID’s contemporary interpretation

Alab na Hinubog is TÁWID’s contemporary reflection on skill in shaping materials.

References

1. GIA, “‘Dragon’s Eye’ Fire Agate,” Gems & Gemology (Winter 2015)
2. National Museum of the Philippines, “Ornaments”
3. Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Panel,” Philippines, late nineteenth–early twentieth century, 1999.47.139
4. Corning Museum of Glass, “Agate,” interpretive notes on Louis Comfort Tiffany’s agate glass

How to read the material guide · Ask about a bracelet

ORDER FIRE AGATE / FIRE QUARTZ

Choose your bead style, bead size, wrist circumference, and quantity. TÁWID will confirm current availability and the final total before payment.