Quartz gemstone

Physical properties of quartz

Characteristics of quartz

In fact, quartz is just a mineral. In addition, this mineral is the most common in nature. For example, the glass we all know is the same quartz.

Another characteristic feature of quartz is that it has a great variety of different types.

But only a small part of the varieties of quartz is used in jewelry (most often crystalline). However, some quartz are quite popular in jewelry. For example, transparent quartz crystals are known as "rock crystal". Yellow minerals are known as "citrine", purple is known to everyone as amethyst, black stone is called "morion", green quartz is called "prase" and "prasiolite".

However, quartz also comes in other shades - pink, blue, milky. And there is a special quartz - smoky (also known as rauchtopaz).

It happens to quartz to have any impurities. Transparent crystals with needle-like inclusions look very beautiful - hairy. Even the names of such minerals are very unusual - "Hair of Venus", "Arrows of Cupid", "hedgehog stone". Quartz is also impressive, whose surface shimmers with colors - for some reason they are called "eyes" (for example, cat's eye, tiger's eye, hawk's eye).

Jewelry varieties of quartz:

• amethysts - transparent quartz of violet and red-violet color
• citrines - transparent quartz from light lemon to amber-honey color
• ametrines (amethyst-citrines) - two-tone transparent quartz from purple and lilac to yellowish-peach color, are a mixture of two stones - amethyst and citrine
• smoky quartz (rauchtopaz) - transparent quartz from light smoky to brown
• rock crystal - transparent colorless quartz
• prasiolites - transparent onion-green quartz (rare)
• hairy quartz (rutile quartz) - transparent quartz with fine needle-like inclusions of rutile or other minerals similar to hair

Other varieties of quartz used in jewelry:

• aventurines - red-brown, brown and green opaque quartz with inclusions that create a shimmering sheen
• rose quartz - transparent and translucent pink quartz blue quartz (sapphire quartz) - translucent quartz of pale blue or lilac color
• prasems - translucent or translucent green quartz morions - opaque black quartz
• cat's eye - quartz with an optical effect resembling a cat's eye
• tiger's eye - golden yellow or golden brown quartz with a characteristic silky sheen
• hawk's eye - blue, blue or gray-blue quartz with a silky iridescence
• chalcedony:
  • common chalcedony - translucent quartz of various shades
  • agate - layered-banded quartz
  • onyx - parallel-banded quartz of various colors
  • heliotropes - opaque green quartz with red spots
  • jasper - quartz with various impurities with a variety of colors and textures
  • overflows - layered banded quartz, similar to agate (virtually unknown outside of Russia)

Since ancient times, quartz has been used to create various jewelry. Quartz stones are very beautiful and look no worse than more expensive minerals (the low price is apparently due to the abundance of quartz in nature).