The Quartz family is one of the largest in the Gemstone world. Throughout history Quartz was more often used as a stand in for more expensive and luxurious gemstones. This led to it being known as the common chameleon of gem stones.

The fine crystal qualities of Quartz have been admired since antiquity times, with its name deriving from the ancient Greek krustallos; meaning ‘ice’. It is believed that the Greeks and the Romans thought that Quartz was in fact ice that couldn’t melt because it was made by the gods.

The two main varieties of quartz: are Cryptocrystalline Quartz and Crystalline quartz.

Cryptocrystalline quartz simply means the crystals within the gem are that small they are practically microscopic. Varieties within this type of Quartz include; Onyx, Chalcedony (a translucent waxy gem formed not of one single crystal but a number of finely grained microcrystals), Agate (often featuring multiple bands of colours) through to Jasper (an impure opaque variety of red, green, black, or mottled quartz).

The remarkable trait about Crystalline Quartz is the sheer variety of forms it is found in, available in a myriad of colours ranging from Rose Quartz to Rock Crystal and Milky Quartz to dark Smokey Quartz. See also Amethyst, Citrine and Ametrine.

• Rose Quartz
  The colour of Rose Quartz ranges from a very tender pale pink to a delicate powder pink and can be transparent through to translucent. This gem has adorned ornaments and jewellery since ancient times. Truly transparent Rose Quartz is extremely rare, and is usually so pale that it does not show much colour at all with the exception of when it is available in larger sizes. Translucent Rose Quartz however is a lot more readily obtainable and unless its colour is vibrant, tends to be used for beaded jewellery and carvings.
  
  Rose quartz is similar to other forms of the Quartz family in that it is prone to inclusions and when of a rutile nature can create asterism. However whilst most asterisms appear when light hits the gemstone, light needs to be shone through the gem in order for the asterism to be visible.
  
  Known as the gemstone of true love, it is said that Rose Quartz allows you to be in touch with your basic self. It will allow you to get to know your true self and to love that true self in all its beauty. As Whitney Huston once sang “learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all” and if you are struggling with self-esteem then maybe this type is for you.
   
• Smokey Quartz
  Also known as Cairngorm Quartz after the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland where it was once mined, Smokey Quartz is the National gemstone of Scotland.
  
  It is believed that Smokey Quartz helps to build a strong relationship and instill peace and harmony. It is thought to transform negative energy and is reported to be effective at dealing with anger.
   
• Rutilated Quartz
  Rutilated Quartz is almost the complete opposite to most varieties of Quartz as its value is based on the amount of inclusions it contains – usually gemstones are more valuable when they contain less inclusions!
  
  This is basically transparent rock crystal with golden needles of rutile set in patterns within the crystal. Each pattern is unique and individual to each and every gemstone. It’s quite amazing to think that no two pieces of Rutilated Quartz are ever going to look the same. The inclusions within these gemstones are sometimes called Venus hair.

Hardness: 6.5-7, Refractive index: 1.54-1.55