| Chemical
Composition |
Silicon
dioxide |
| Color |
Very
wide color range -- colorless, yellow,
brown, purple, pink, greenish. Crypto
crystalline quartz often displays
exotic color bands, swirls, and other
patterns. |
| Refractive
Index |
R.I.
1.553-1.554. Uniaxial positive |
| Durability |
Hardness
7 |
| Crystal
Structure |
Hexagonal |
| Specific
Gravity |
2.651
for crystalline material, up to 2.91
for crypto crystalline |
| Sources
/ Occurrence |
Extremely
widespread |
| Varieties |
Crystalline
Quartz—Amethyst, Citrine, Ametrine,
Vermarine/Prasiolite, Rock Crystal,
Smoky Quartz, Rose Quartz
Crypto crystalline Quartz—Agate,
Aventurine, Bloodstone, Cornelian,
Calchedony, Chrysocolla Quartz, Chryoprase,
Fire Agate, Jasper, Pertrified Dinosaur
Bone, Petrified wood, Prase, Sard,
Sardonyx, Tiger’s eye and Turritella. |
|
|
The Quartz group holds a very important place in
mineralogy because of the abundance of varieties
and its ancient origin.
|
|
Amethyst
The name ‘Amethyst’ is derived from
Greek ‘Amethystos’ meaning ‘not
drunken'. |
Amethyst, the purple
gemstone was treasured by the Roman gods, as a Talisman
to ward off the intoxicating powers of Bacchus.
It is the traditional birthstone of February. According
to an ancient legend Amethyst was the name of a
beautiful nymph, who protected crops from insects.
Greek mythology talks of the legendary Amethyst
thus. Dionysius (the God of Wine) in an argument
with a mortal one-day became aggressive and decided
to kill the next mortal that crossed his path by
unleashing ferocious tigers on them. So, the mortal
to come along was none other than the beautiful
maiden Amethyst. As soon as Dionysius released the
tigers, Diana, the goddess of hunt, turned Amethyst
in a statue of pure crystalline quartz. The very
sight of the beautiful Amethyst, made Dionysius
realize the futility of his anger and he wept tears
of wine, which turned the statue purple.
Amethyst quickens wits and increases telepathic
powers. Using it for several weeks aids sobriety
and helps overcoming alcoholism and other addictions.
|
|
Citrine
Citrine gets its name from its lemon yellow color.
Some people call it golden topaz, which is a very
rare stone. This word is derived from the French
word for lemon. |
The ancients believed
that Citrine united the mental, emotional and intuitive
selves, bringing a sense of well being and balance
to the wearer. The Golden Citrine was revered as
a gift of the sun and recommended as a powerful
antidote to the viper's venom.
Today it is considered to be a joyous stone symbolizing
celebration and rebirth. Citrine is considered,
as the gem of light heartedness is believed to bring
a good sense of humor to an otherwise unpleasant
situation. |
Ametrine
Occasionally, when Mother Nature combines the colors
of both Amethyst and Citrine into a single stone
we get an exciting gemstone called Ametrine. |
Rock Crystal
Again a variety of quartz gets its name since ancient
times when it symbolized the ice of the Alps, that
never melted. In ancient Greece and during the Roman
Empire rock crystal was used to create engraved
plates; furthermore, it was the forerunner of crystal:
it was used to produce drinking glasses, jugs and
tableware in general. The ancient engravers produced
works of dazzling virtuosity and the finest examples
that have survived until today are keenly sought
by collectors. |
|
