Lustre of quartz

Quartz is one of the most well-known minerals on earth. It occurs in basically all mineral environments, and is the important constituent of many rocks. There are more variety names given to Quartz than any other mineral.

Lesser quality stones are often tumbled for use in bracelets, necklaces, and as costume jewelery. Large spheres and carvings are also cut from all the Quartz forms.

Due to its abundance and lack of luster , Rock Crystal is not commonly cut into gemstones, although some very large spheres and sculptures are carved from it.

A significant component of many igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, this natural form of silicon dioxide is found in an impressive range of varieties and .

Cleavage , Does not exhibit cleavage , although crystal faces may be mistaken for cleavage planes. Conchoidal fracture is characteristic of both macrocrystalline and cryptocrystalline quartz varieties. Chemical Classification, Silicate.

Color, Quartz occurs in virtually every color. Common colors are clear, white, gray, purple, yellow, brown, black, pink, green, red. Streak , Colorless (harder than the streak plate).

Diaphaneity, Transparent to translucent. When quartz -bearing rocks become weathered and erode the grains of resistant quartz are concentrated in the soil, in rivers, and on beaches. The word traces its origins back to the Latin lux, meaning light, and generally implies radiance, gloss, or brilliance. A range of terms are used to describe lustre , such as earthy, metallic, greasy, and silky.

Mineral class, Silicates : Quartz - Opal group. Habitus, As hexagonal prisms with rhomboedric terminations. Also common in dense masses or grainy aggregates. For one, the helix makes three turns and this helps produce the trigonal symmetry of quartz. Detailed gem and jewelry information guide about the pink gemstone rose quartz . It is the purple variety of the mineral Quartz , and its most valuable and prized variety.

Its name derives from the Greek amethystos, which means not drunken, as Amethyst in antiquity was thought to ward off drunkenness. The color of some Amethyst specimens from certain . Luster describing minerals with reflective properties similar to that of glass. The only mineral that can possibly be be confused with Diamond is waterworn Quartz pebbles which may resemble waterworn Diamonds, but the hardness and luster of Diamond will easily differentiate the two.

Detailed properties and locality information guide on the quartz mineral chalcedony, the microcrystalline quartz. The different types of luster referred to are: . Return to the Index of Rose Quartz Information Topics . The smoky colour from free silicon, formed from the silicon dioxide by natural .