Cacholong

Cacholong, also known as Kalmuck agate, is a form of common <a href="/facts/Opal/LF7Xa7nK">opal</a>, although it is often mistaken for <a href="/facts/Agate/1E9v6Jxp">agate</a> or <a href="/facts/Chalcedony/46xQNNxs">chalcedony</a>, and Parker Cleaveland claimed it was a variety of chalcedony.: 249  It has a milky white colour that can also be described as bluish white or <a href="/facts/Cream_(colour)/YaSsz0xg">cream</a>. With a <a href="/facts/Mohs_scale_of_mineral_hardness/wXBMcVIm">Mohs hardness</a> of about 6, it is used for carving, cameos, etc. The word "cacholong" has also been used as a synonym for <a href="/facts/Actinolite/Xql9k08e">actinolite</a>. 
Found in Austria, Czech Republic, Mongolia and Uzbekistan, its name possibly comes from the Cach River in <a href="/facts/Bukhara/lqEU9LpU">Bukhara</a>.: 249  It is also known to occur in <a href="/facts/Iceland/E4KGYs2j">Iceland</a>; in the town of <a href="/facts/Huttenberg,_Austria/vX3CeG2a">Huttenberg, Austria</a>; in <a href="/facts/Deerfield,_Massachusetts/hCBCo2Fz">Deerfield</a>: 249  and <a href="/facts/Pittsfield,_Massachusetts/fwWCpP8W">Pittsfield</a>, Massachusetts, U.S.; in the <a href="/facts/Faroe_Islands/HMJ3bfmN">Faroe Islands</a>; in <a href="/facts/Elba/BlY5Jby6">Elba</a>, Italy; and in Spain; and in <a href="/facts/Nova_Scotia/RcmIvd1A">Nova Scotia</a>, Canada.
The gemstone sculpture Sultry Midday by <a href="/facts/Vasily_Konovalenko/6CXMBy5n">Vasily Konovalenko</a>, which depicted two women having tea, incorporated a cacholong teacup.

Cacholong open-in-new

Cacholong