Quartz

About Quartz

Quartz is silicon dioxide, the same chemistry across an enormous family that includes amethyst, citrine, drusy and agate. In its pure form it is colorless rock crystal, prized historically for optical clarity and carved into everything from lenses to reliquaries.

The included varieties are where it becomes genuinely interesting. Rutilated quartz contains golden needles of rutile suspended inside a clear crystal. Tourmalinated quartz carries black tourmaline needles. These are not flaws but the entire appeal, and no two stones are remotely alike.

Because quartz is inexpensive relative to the labour that can be put into it, it is the material where cutters take risks — deep concave facets, optical slices, hand-cut geometry that would never be attempted in a costly rough. Some of the most inventive lapidary work available is in quartz.

Why Sharon works with quartz

Quartz is where Sharon buys hand-cut work from individual lapidaries rather than calibrated goods from a supplier. The stone costs little; the cutting is the value, and it shows.

Caring for quartz

Warm soapy water and a soft brush. Heavily included stones should skip the ultrasonic.

Common questions about quartz