Clear Quartz, Meaning, Properties, and Facts

What is clear quartz

Clear quartz is crystallized silicon dioxide, one silicon atom to every two oxygen atoms, locked into a framework hard enough to scratch glass. Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust, after feldspar, and clear quartz is the version with almost nothing else in it. It is also piezoelectric: squeeze it and it produces a small voltage, an effect Pierre and Jacques Curie demonstrated in 1880. That is why quartz keeps time in watches, although watch quartz is grown in factories.

Clear quartz properties

Clear quartz properties are the reference values for all quartz (full data on Mindat's quartz page):

Where clear quartz is found

Clear quartz is found almost everywhere, in veins, pegmatites, geodes and open cracks in granite and metamorphic rock. Famous sources include Minas Gerais in Brazil, the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas (quartz is Arkansas's state mineral), Madagascar and the Alps. In Herkimer County, New York, short double-pointed crystals grow in cavities in dolostone and are sold as Herkimer diamonds. Colorado has quartz across its mining districts; start at the Colorado crystals and collecting hub.

Clear quartz crystal shapes and inclusions

Clear quartz crystal shapes start with a six-sided prism capped by a point, and inclusions turn plain crystals into named varieties. Clouds of fluid bubbles make milky quartz, and natural radiation acting on aluminum in the crystal makes smoky quartz. Red flakes of an iron mineral make lepidocrocite quartz. A metal film added in a lab makes aura quartz. The whole family is in types of quartz.

How to tell if clear quartz is real

How to tell if clear quartz is real comes down to glass, the usual fake: glass has round bubbles and swirl lines, warms quickly in the hand and is softer. Natural quartz usually has something inside, such as wispy veils, tiny cracks or needles, and it scratches glass. A flawless, perfectly shaped point at a low price is often glass or a molded casting. Lead crystal glassware is glass too, and there the word crystal is only a trade term.

Clear quartz care: water and sun

Clear quartz care is the easiest in the quartz family: it can go in water, it will not fade, and mild soap and a soft brush clean it. The one sun warning is physics. A clear sphere works like a magnifying glass, and a crystal ball in a sunny window can focus light hot enough to scorch whatever sits behind it.

Clear quartz price

Clear quartz price depends on clarity, size, an undamaged point and locality, since the mineral itself is common. Water-clear crystals with sharp tips cost more than cloudy or chipped ones, and well-known localities such as Arkansas or Herkimer County add value.

Clear quartz meaning and benefits

Clear quartz meaning and benefits, in crystal lore, are clarity and amplification: it is sold as a master healer that boosts other stones. That is belief, not chemistry. The history is real: ancient Greek and Roman writers believed rock crystal was ice frozen so hard it could never melt, and the word crystal comes from the Greek krystallos, ice.

Clear quartz for sale

Clear quartz for sale at geoslut arrives in drops of one-of-one pieces, each photographed in daylight and labeled with its mineral and locality, and the list hears first. See quartz for the current drop.

Clear Quartz FAQ

Can clear quartz go in water?

Clear quartz can go in water: it is 7 on the Mohs scale and does not dissolve, soften or fade.

Is clear quartz the same as glass?

Clear quartz is not the same as glass: quartz is a crystal with an ordered atomic structure, while glass has none and is softer.

How much is clear quartz worth?

How much clear quartz is worth depends on clarity, size, condition and locality, since the mineral itself is common.

What is the difference between clear quartz and Herkimer diamond?

The difference between clear quartz and Herkimer diamond is form and locality: Herkimer diamonds are short, double-pointed clear quartz crystals from Herkimer County, New York.

Sources

• Quartz, Wikipedia
• Quartz, Mindat
• Piezoelectricity, Wikipedia