Agates that display colour as vivid as that evident in this piece are rare in the St Cyrus area. To the south of St Cyrus beach, orange fortification agates are traditionally found in the screes beneath the crumbling cliffs that remain mostly very overgrown with gorse, bramble and wild grass. However, the beaches do provide coloured examples from time-to-time. This agate was picked-up during the winter of 2015, during a December squall. The rain was horizontal, the wind was invasive, and the car seat wet all the way home.
The best coloured agates from St Cyrus may exhibit wonderful brick-red colouration. This piece also includes blue-grey stalactites in ascension from the base. The banding is exquisite, showing folds of white against the red, whilst in its centre there exists the suggestion of onyx patterning that may be more pronounced in layers unseen within the stone. In 2015 I certainly collected many, many agates from the same general area as this stone, that were worth cutting. Yet only two fine agates of colour were revealed.