On this page
UnderstandWhat it is, what people ask, how far this page goes
Natural inorganic gem materials · Trade name: colour / appearance variety · Natural identity; treatment status unknown
Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate
Also known asFlower agate
A trade name for chalcedony with feathery inclusions; "cherry blossom" is a marketing description of the pattern, not a fixed mineral species. This page compares how the major standards and institutions name it, what must be disclosed when selling it, whether it can be worn every day, how it is treated and identified, and which source each conclusion comes from.
Price, rarity and origin are outside the scope of this wiki.
What this page can answer
This page covers
- How Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate forms and what gives its colourFormation setting, process and timescale; where its colour and optical effects come from, each finding graded and sourced
- How to identify Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom AgateIdentification points from the research literature; how far lab testing can go
- Treatments and enhancements of Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom AgateThe enhancements and treatments the GB/T and JJA/AGL tables list
- Hardness, density and refractive index of Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom AgateEach value with its source and check date
- Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate in English, Chinese and Japanese; national standard namesNames in four languages, the GB/T standard name and the suggested listing name; and: Has any of GIA, FTC, CIBJO or Gem-A put a name for it on record here?
- Listing and disclosing Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom AgateThe listing name to use; what must be disclosed before sale
What we cannot conclude
- Whether one particular bead is natural, treated or synthetic — only a laboratory report can settle that.
- Geographic origin, unless an origin report accompanies the item.
- Price, rarity or investment value: this wiki covers naming and disclosure only.
Material research: formation, causes and history
What authoritative sources say about how this material forms, what causes its colour and optical effects, where its name comes from and how people have used it. Each statement carries an evidence grade and its sources; it describes the material in general, not any specific piece.
How it forms
Cherry blossom agate is a market name for agate or chalcedony whose silica groundmass contains flower- or plume-like inclusions; it is not a distinct mineral variety. The host agate, by the prevailing hypothesis, forms inside volcanic voids, where silica-rich fluids deposit layer upon layer in rim-to-centre cycles; zone width and overall pattern depend on how much silica the fluids carry, together with their temperature, pressure and the sequence of influxes. The “flowers” are needle- or plume-like mineral inclusions (such as iron oxides) in the silica matrix, but this trade name has no authoritative mineralogical definition and the inclusion species must be tested case by case.
Scope: Covers the layered growth mechanism of the siliceous matrix of agates with flower-like inclusions; does not constitute a mineralogical definition of the trade name "cherry blossom agate", nor does it cover the specific composition of the inclusions.
Sources G&G Fall 2013
Where it forms
Gas cavities or voids in volcanic rock (e.g. basalt), entered and filled by silica-rich fluids through microfissures or infiltration canals.
Sources G&G Fall 2013
Late hydrothermal to supergene setting: Fe, Ti, Mn and other elements enter with the fluids and affect inclusions and colour zones.
Sources G&G Fall 2013
How it forms, step by step
Silica-rich fluids penetrate a volcanic void through microfissures or infiltration canals.
The fluids work from the void's rim inward to its centre in repeated cycles, laying down fibrous microcrystalline silica in layers that build the agate groundmass.
Elements such as iron carried by the fluids form needle- and plume-like inclusions that create the flower-like appearance.
At the final stage idiomorphic quartz may crystallize in the void centre; the overall pattern and zone widths are set by silica concentration together with temperature, pressure and influx timing.
Link to appearance
Needle- or plume-like inclusions in the silica groundmass produce flower- or petal-like patterns; in agate such inclusions are often iron oxides, but the “cherry blossom” look varies with inclusion habit, density and body colour.
Sources G&G Fall 2013
Timescale
The cited agate study states that agate crystallization lasted millions of years and took place in stages (Sidi Rahal, Morocco), but gives no absolute age or growth duration for cherry blossom agate itself.
Sources G&G Fall 2013
Related base materials
- Chalcedony / agate (microcrystalline quartz, SiO2): commercial-name-of | Flower agate (cherry blossom agate) is a market trade name for agate or chalcedony containing flower-like/plume-like inclusions
Supporting findings
Under the prevailing hypothesis, agate's layered structure arises as silica-rich fluids enter a volcanic void and deposit material in rim-to-centre cycles.
Evidence grade AScope: The mechanism is the general agate hypothesis, evidenced mainly by Sidi Rahal samples; it applies to agate broadly.
Causes of colour and optical effects
Agate colour zoning is caused by elements such as Fe, Ti and Mn carried in the fluids, which affect only the coloration of the zones, not the layering mechanism.
Evidence grade AScope: General rule for silica agate zones; exact colouring elements vary by locality.
How it is identified
For cherry-blossom agate, colour and banding by themselves do not reveal whether the hue is natural or produced by dyeing or heating, so visual appearance cannot settle naturalness or treatment; a trustworthy identification and any treatment ruling call for instrumental examination at a qualified gem laboratory, and this entry is no basis for self-testing.
Evidence grade AScope: Appearance cannot replace identification; naturalness, dyeing or heat treatment must be determined at a qualified gem laboratory, and this entry is not a self-testing basis.
Sources G&G Summer 2014 · CIBJO Gemstone Book 2022
Other research findings
The agate matrix may contain needle- or plume-like iron-oxide inclusions that can form flower- or plume-like internal patterns.
Evidence grade BScope: Based on needle-like iron-oxide inclusions observed in Moroccan agate; it cannot be assumed that cherry blossom agate inclusions are the same phase.
“Cherry blossom agate” is a market trade name, not an independently defined mineral material, and its mineralogical definition is unclear.
Evidence grade CScope: The cited authorities define agate/chalcedony itself but give no standard definition of “cherry blossom agate”.
Limits of this research
- Research status: Formation, occurrence or other material-specific findings found in authoritative sources
- “Cherry blossom agate” has no authoritative mineralogical definition; this record only draws on general agate formation and general inclusion observations.
- The sources do not describe the specific inclusions or localities of cherry blossom agate; whether the flower-like inclusions are iron oxides requires case-by-case testing.
- No absolute age or growth duration for this material is given.
Methodology
- Origin determination and its limits
- Quality grading and value factors
- How gemmology became a technical discipline
Evidence grades
- A
- Standards bodies, government geological surveys, peer-reviewed research and museum records
- B
- Institutional educational material
- C
- Specialist databases or cautious readings
A statement is never graded above its strongest source.
This section is LumaLark's own factual restatement of public authoritative sources, credited item by item; it contains no verbatim excerpts, images or third-party logos.
DecideListing name, disclosure, care and treatments
- Suggested listing name
- Patterned Agate
GB/T 16552—2017 5.1.1 c)
Construction or treatment status
Natural identity; treatment status unknown
Treatments recorded for this material: Heated / Heat-treated (via parent material), Filled / Fracture-filled (via parent material), Dyed (via parent material)
Related:Disclosure and cautions
This page cannot answer
Natural? · Origin · Price
A lab report settles these; this wiki covers naming and disclosure.
Related:What this page can answer
Answer at a glance
"Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate" is a market name rather than a mineral species name; before using it, verify: Trade name rather than a mineralogical species name.
What this means for you
Before buying, check the recommended listing name "Patterned Agate" and any disclosed treatments on this page, and ask the seller for a grading report if in doubt.
Known uncertainty
- This entry's exact material identity is not fully settled.
- See “Disclosure and cautions” above
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-01
Trade-name ruling
- Trade name rather than a mineralogical species name.
- Suggested listing name
- Patterned Agate
Care and wear
No care facts are recorded for this entry itself. Its parent material has care records: see Quartz.
Treatments and identification leads
One row per treatment, with three standards side by side: how often it occurs and how stable it is (CIBJO), its category in GB/T 16552—2017 Table B.1 (this site's paraphrase) and how the JJA/AGL 2025 table lists it. Each CIBJO value links to its entry under “Testing and market”, where the wording and source are given in full.
This table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
| Treatment | Market frequency (CIBJO) | Stability (CIBJO) | GB/T 16552 category | JJA/AGL listing | Identification leads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heating | — | — | Optimization | — | — |
| Filling | — | — | Graded — see §5.4.1, Table 1 | — | — |
| Dyeing | — | — | Optimization | — | — |
“—” means the cited source gives no value for that item, not “none”. Source: GB/T 16552—2017 Table B.1 (row for Chalcedony)
Whether a treatment has to show in the name differs between the two rule sets (this site’s paraphrase):
- GB/T 16552—2017: a method classed as treatment has to be stated in the name itself — the method put before the name, or added in brackets after it; a method classed as optimization does not need to appear in the name, though one marked “Optimization (annotation required)” still has to be noted in the quality documents. Source: §5.4.2.1 a), b); §5.4.2.2 a)
- CIBJO Gemstone Book 2022: no longer splits treatments into ones that need specific disclosure and ones that need only general disclosure: every treatment is to be disclosed, and the seller tells the buyer which treatment was used and what special care it calls for. Source: §4.2.5 Note 2, §4.2.5.1, pp.14–15
What this table covers
What this page can give
- Registered treatments, their stability and how often they occur (see the table above)
- Identification leads for each treatment, for use when sending a stone for testing
VerifyNames, standards, technical facts, clauses and sources
Names
Besides Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate, the name register records "Flower agate", for which no restriction on use as a name is recorded.
Names in four languagesNames for Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate are registered in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English (Flower Agate and Cherry Blossom Agate) and Japanese. Standard and listing namesThe corresponding GB/T 16552—2017 naming counterpart is agate, and the name itself is not listed in the standard; the English market name and the trade name or synonym are both Flower agate, and the mineralogical name is chalcedony with plume-like inclusions. The suggested listing name is patterned agate. Institution usageThe wording of GIA, FTC, CIBJO and Gem-A for Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate is not yet verified by this site, nor is that of the GSJ (Japan); the English and Japanese names shown are the entry's own and do not represent the position of GIA, FTC, CIBJO, Gem-A or the GSJ.
Name register
Every name recorded for this entry, with how it is classified, whether it may be matched to this entry automatically, whether it may be used as a product name, and the clause it rests on.
This table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
| Name | Type | Matching | Use as a name | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| no restriction recorded (1) | ||||
| Flower agateEnglish | market name | matched automatically | no restriction recorded | editorial ruling (no clause cited) |
How each authority words this name: see Names › Authority wording.
- GSJ (Japan) formal name
- フラワーアゲート (not yet checked for this body — the entry's own Japanese name is shown)
- GB/T naming counterpart (this name is not in the standard)
- 玛瑙 (GB/T 16552—2017 §5.1.1 c))
- Mineralogical name
- Chalcedony with plume-like inclusions
- Trade names and synonyms
- Flower agate (market name)
Four-language names
- 简体中文
- 樱花玛瑙
- 繁體中文
- 櫻花瑪瑙
- English
- Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate
- 日本語
- フラワーアゲート
See also: Misleading and prohibited trade names · Supplementary name index
Classification
- Origin
- Natural materials
- Material domain
- Natural inorganic gem materials
- Browsing family
- Quartz and chalcedony materials
- Identity tier
- Trade name: colour / appearance variety
- Mineral chemical class
- Silicates
- Construction or treatment status
- Natural identity; treatment status unknown
Treatments listed by standards
Treatments for Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate are classified under the “Chalcedony (Agate/Jasper)” row of GB/T 16552—2017, Annex B, Table B.1: heating is listed as an optimization, filling is graded, and dyeing is listed as an optimization; the full row, with the effect column, is on the Chalcedony entry. What Table B.1 is and how the filling grades are defined are on the Gem treatments page.
GB/T 16552-2017, Annex B, Table B.1
Under the “Chalcedony (Agate/Jasper)” row of Table B.1: Heating Optimization; Filling Graded — see §5.4.1, Table 1; Dyeing Optimization. The full row, with the effect column, is on the Chalcedony page.
What Table B.1 is, and how the “see 5.4.1” grades are defined: see the GB/T 16552: optimization vs treatment page.
What it is and how it's identified
The chemical composition, fluorescence, UV-visible spectrum, infrared spectrum and magnification of Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate are registered on the Chalcedony entry for chalcedony (including agate and jasper, the whole class). Registered for chalcedony (including agate and jasper, the whole class), the structure of Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate is a cryptocrystalline aggregate, compact and massive, also occurring as spherulitic, radiating or microfibrous aggregates; Mohs hardness 5–7, no cleavage, density 2.5–2.77 g/cm³. Optical facts are also registered for chalcedony (including agate and jasper, the whole class): optic character is an anisotropic aggregate; refractive index 1.535–1.539, with a site note that the cited clause also gives finer sub-ranges and the overall value is used; birefringence not measurable on an aggregate; pleochroism, untreated, not measurable on an aggregate; the optical effects iridescence and chatoyancy are both visible; and the quality factor (lustre), untreated, is vitreous to greasy.
Registered material facts
Each row carries its own source and check date and can be cited on its own; “—” means the cited source gives no value, not “none”.
Chemical composition, luminescence, UV-visible spectrum, infrared spectrum, magnification: these whole-class features are given in the cited clause for chalcedony, including agate and jasper (the whole class), so they are not repeated on the Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate page; see the material facts on the Chalcedony entry.
Items below that name the class they cover give the cited clause’s value for that whole class, not a measurement of Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate (how to read class-level values).
Structure
Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate — structure (overall): a cryptocrystalline aggregate, dense and massive in habit; it may also form spherulitic, radial or finely fibrous aggregates.
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- chalcedony, including agate and jasper (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Durability
Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate — Mohs hardness: 5–7
GB/T 16553—2017
Reference points on this site: Talc 1–3, Fluorite 4, Apatite 5–5.5, Orthoclase 6–6.5, Topaz 8, Diamond 10 (Source: GB/T 16553—2017); Gypsum 1.5–2, Calcite 3, Quartz 7 (Source: Handbook of Mineralogy); Corundum 9 (Source: GIA Gem Encyclopedia (care guide))
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- chalcedony, including agate and jasper (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate — cleavage: none
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- chalcedony, including agate and jasper (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Physical properties
Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate — density: 2.5–2.77 g/cm³
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- chalcedony, including agate and jasper (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Optical
Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate — optic character: anisotropic aggregate
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- chalcedony, including agate and jasper (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate — refractive index: 1.535–1.539
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- chalcedony, including agate and jasper (the whole class)
- General note
- the clause has finer ranges
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate — birefringence: not measurable on an aggregate
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- chalcedony, including agate and jasper (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate — pleochroism: not measurable on an aggregate
GB/T 16553—2017
- Treatment state
- untreated
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- chalcedony, including agate and jasper (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate — optical effect (iridescence): seen
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- chalcedony, including agate and jasper (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate — optical effect (chatoyancy): seen
GB/T 16553—2017
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- chalcedony, including agate and jasper (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
- CIBJO definitions
- chatoyancy
Quality factors
Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate — quality factor (lustre): vitreous to greasy
GB/T 16553—2017
- Treatment state
- untreated
- Does this standard apply
- applies to this entry
- What this covers
- chalcedony, including agate and jasper (the whole class)
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- GB/T 16553—2017 Gems — Testing (GB/T): §5.2.5 (locator checked 2026-09-26)
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Each row's “Source & check” expands to the full source; the date beside it is the fact check date.
This material (RI / SG midpoints): 1.537 / 2.63; Closest values: 1Amethyst 1.548 / 2.67, 2Charoite 1.554 / 2.66, 3Changhua Stone 1.56 / 2.6, 4Shoushan Stone 1.56 / 2.7, 5Balin Stone 1.56 / 2.55
Show the full chart (330 registered materials)
Outside the full chart's range, drawn as triangles at the edge (RI / SG midpoints): Hematite 3.045/5.12, Synthetic Rutile 2.76/4.26, Rutile 2.753/4.23, Synthetic Moissanite 2.67/3.22
Testing and market
The CIBJO laboratory protocol covers Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate under “Chalcedony” (§6.1.16): see identification on the Chalcedony entry; the required tests are listed on the CIBJO laboratory protocol table for Chalcedony.
How far testing can go
Each row's “Source & check” expands to the full source; the date beside it is the fact check date.
Evidence and sources
Authority basis and clause sources
Sources
Further reading
Related entries and topic cluster
Parent entry and related pages on this site. Rows marked “Planned” are suggested new content and have no link yet.
Related-entry tree for Quartz on this site: 74 entries listed by this site's parent-entry links; synthetic, treated and similar entries carry their recorded state after the name; this page (Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate) is marked.
- Quartz
Sub-entries (57)
- Agate
Sub-entries (1)
- Amethyst
- Ametrine
- Aventurine Quartz
- Aventurine Quartz / Green Aventurine
- Banded Agate
- Black Agate
- Bloodstone / Heliotrope
- Blue Lace Agate
- Carnelian
- Chalcedony
Sub-entries (2)
- Chrysoprase
- Citrine
- Clear Quartz / Rock Crystal
- Coated Quartz
- Colourless to White Quartz (brand name: Azeztulite)
- Crazy Lace Agate
- Dendritic Agate
- Dyed Agate (Treated: dyed)
- Elestial Quartz / Skeletal Quartz
- Eye Agate
- Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate
- Green Quartz
- High-clarity quartz with golden needle-like inclusions
- Included Quartz
- Jasper
Sub-entries (1)
- Madeira Citrine
- Malachite Agate
- Morion / very dark Smoky Quartz
- Moss Agate
- Moss Chalcedony
- Multi-inclusion Quartz
- Onyx (banded chalcedony)
- Phantom Quartz
- Prase
- Prasiolite / Green Quartz
- Quartz Cat’s-eye
- Quartz claimed to be from the Himalayas
- Quartz Crystal
- Quartz with dark needle-like inclusions
- Quartz with fine fibrous inclusions
- Quartz with flower-like inclusions
- Quartz with golden needle-like inclusions
- Quartz with green needle-like inclusions
- Quartzite Jade
- Quartzose Jade
- Red Agate
- Rock Crystal
- Rose Quartz
- Rutilated Quartz
- Sard
- Sardonyx
- Silicified Asbestos
Sub-entries (2)
- Hawk’s Eye
- Tiger’s Eye
Sub-entries (1)
- Smoky Quartz
- Smoky Quartz (brown variety)
- Strawberry Quartz
- Yellow-green Quartz
- Agate
This table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
| Page | Content | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Browsing family | Quartz and chalcedony materials | Live |
| Treatments recorded for this material | Heated / Heat-treated (via parent material), Filled / Fracture-filled (via parent material), Dyed (via parent material) | Live |
| Related articles | To be added (placeholder) | Planned |
Who maintains this page
The material facts in the Flower Agate / Cherry Blossom Agate entry are maintained by the LumaLark wiki and matched one by one to the standard clauses or institutional sources they cite: every fact carries its source (with a clause or page locator) and a check date, so it can be traced back to the original. The entry exists so that buyers and sellers can check naming, disclosure and material facts item by item.