Agate stone – a tool for water gilding, miniature painting, and Arabic calligraphy

Burnishers for gilders are produced in specialist agate-cutting workshops from the precious stone agate. One of agate’s unique qualities is its extreme hardness. Especially when polishing gold leaf (water gilding) or gold powder (Arabic calligraphy and miniature painting), agate can be used to achieve a high-gloss gold surface.

The right choice for you

The shape and size of agate stones is determined by the surface to be polished. The stones we offer are ready for use, have been ground to a matte finish, and are therefore perfect for polishing gold leaf and silver leaf.

Would you like to polish up a polishing white surface? Please be sure to order an agate stone with a smooth surface.

A little tip for beginners: a good gilder will use on average five polishing stones for their work, whereas a bad gilder will require them all.

We will happily send you a selection of stones for you to view.

New stones and repair of old stones

Do you have a favourite stone that has become damaged or broken? You are welcome to send your stone to us, packaged well, via registered delivery or as a parcel. Our agate stone specialist will then try to repair your polishing stone or reproduce it anew. We will be happy to send you a cost estimation.