Michigan’s Hidden Gem: What Is Fordite and Why Is It So Rare?

I had one of those "today I learned" moments when it came to something called Fordite. Ever heard of it?

I hadn't, and I was intrigued.

Fordite kind of sounds like a gemstone meets a Ford vehicle.

Things Made in Michigan

You can imagine my surprise when I learned... it basically is a Michigan-made "Ford gemstone".

You can see this agate-looking "gemstone" HERE.

Fordite, also known as "Detroit agate" or "Motor agate", is not an actual gemstone, even though it kind of looks like one. It's actually made of leftover paint! And not just from Ford, as the name might suggest.

What Is Fordite Made Of?

It was in the 1920s when car manufacturers started painting car bodies. There was often overspray that would start to accumulate over time.

Layer by layer, that paint would get baked over and over again until the paint clumps got so big they had to be removed to make sure there was room for more cars to be painted.

READ ALSO: Collecting Rocks In Michigan? You'd Better Follow These Rules

Eventually, factory workers saved those paint chunks—what we now call Fordite.

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These man-made "gemstones" take hundreds and hundreds of layers to make. It takes approximately "997 layers of paint to build a 1-inch thick Fordite slag" piece.

Why Is Fordite So Valuable Today?

These days, Fordite is super popular for multiple reasons:

• These are literal pieces of history.
• Supply is limited. Once car manufacturers improved the spray method, there is little to no overspray.
• There are different kinds. Some are brightly hued, others more neutral, and even some metallic (ie. some of the brightest colored cars were made in the '60s and '70s, leading to some of the brightest colored Fordite).

Nowadays, you can often find Fordite used to make cool pieces of jewelry.