What is bull quartz?
A boulder consisting nearly all of quartz (SiO2, silica, silicon dioxide) at the old Crystal Peak Mine, in California very near the Nevada line. "Bull" quartz is an old miners' word for this sort of massive occurrence.
Quartz is abundant in certain igneous rocks. It forms the clear to grey or even white lumpy blobs in granite and comprise most of silicate-rich or felsic igneous rocks. It is absent or rare in more primitive basic or silica-poor igneous rocks such as basalt. Quartz is almost never present in meteorites.
Rock crystal quartz is found widely distributed, some of the more notable localities being: the Alps; Minas Gerais, Brazil; Madagascar; and Japan. The best quartz crystals from the United States are found at HotSprings, Arkansas, and Little Falls and Ellenville, New York.
From Jewelry making and gemstones, for its ability to luster, to brick making in the refractory industry for its physical strength and to watches and clocks for its piezoelectric property, quartz find uses in a wide range of industries.
Quartz's clarity earns it a raw price of around $0.01/carat and a gem price of $1-$7/carat. Amethyst, or purple quartz, is the most valuable variety (can reach $15/carat), but pink, rose, and smokey quartz is also valuable. Clearer, more vibrant, and unbroken specimens are the most valuable quartz.
Quartz exists in two forms, the normal α-quartz and the high-temperature β-quartz, both of which are chiral.
A member of the large quartz family, citrine was named after its unusual colour. Derived from the Latin word citrina, meaning "yellow", natural citrine is the rarest of the quartz varieties, which include amethyst, aventurine and prasiolite.
Real Clear Quartz crystals will often feel cooler to the touch than glass. Glass will feel room temperature, while quartz will be slightly cooler in your hand. Leave your clear quartz crystal on the counter for a few hours and pick it up - what is the temperature? If it's a bit cooler, it's likely authentic!
Diamonds have a specific gravity of 3.1–3.5. Quartz has a specific gravity of 2.6–2.7. In placer deposits, tumbled quartz pebbles and diamonds can appear similar.
Quartz, silica, crystalline silica and flint are non-toxic materials having no known adverse health effects from ingestion.
Why is quartz expensive?
Unlike granite and marble, quartz doesn't require sealing. This feature has made quartz highly popular among homeowners and like any other popular item, there is a high demand for the stone. The laws of demand and supply dictate that the higher the demand, the higher the price hence the high price of the stone.
The answer is quite simple… durability and abundance. Quartz is the fourth strongest material on earth after diamond, sapphire, and topaz. When combined with high-quality resins and formed into surfacing slabs, it lasts a lifetime, is completely hygienic, and is resistant to impact, scratching and scorching.
One of the easiest ways to get your collection of quartz crystals in front of a lot of potential buyers is to sell it online. There are many different online platforms you can use to sell it, such as Craigslist, Ebay and even on Rockhound Facebook groups.
Add about 1 tablespoon of Iron Out to a pint of warm water in a plastic bucket or container. Soak your crystal clusters in the Iron Out solution for 5-20 minutes, up to a maximum of 1-2 hours. When done, pour the liquid down the drain and thoroughly rinse your mineral specimens.
Uncleaned mine-run specimen material may cost from $4-$6 per pound. To pick off a table of this material with some of the clay washed off, may cost you $8-$10 per pound. Cleaned clear specimens in small sizes often cost between $10-$15 per pound.
Identifying Quartz - YouTube
Main Varieties of Quartz
Rock crystal is white, citrine yellow, amethyst purple and rose quartz is pink. Brown or green transparent varieties are also available. One variety, ametrine, is part purple and part yellow.
Milk quartz or milky quartz is the most common variety of crystalline quartz.
Rainbow or Aura Quartz is treated natural quartz. The quartz crystals that become these flashy specimens are just normal points underneath the surface. The alteration isn't minor, it requires a lot of technology and some exotic materials.
Lavender Quartz is a rare, pinkish-purple gemstone that only comes from the Boquira Mine in the northern Brazilian state of Bahia. Named for the flower, Lavender Quartz's attractive color in combination with its delicate brilliance are what makes this gem so desirable.
What can scratch quartz?
Mohs Hardness Scale
Quartz is a 7. It can be scratched by topaz, corundum, and diamond.
1. Clear Quartz. Clear Quartz is one of the natural crystals that are often fake. Glass look-alikes can be pretty convincing, however, making perfect glass replicas of real Quartz crystals ends up costing too much to be profitable.
To tell glass from quartz, consider the characteristics of each. Glass may have round bubbles, quartz will not. Quartz will scratch glass due to differences in hardness. Use a gem tester to test thermal conductivity.
Quartz is a hard and crystalline mineral that consists of two oxygen and one silicone atom. It takes years to form this mineral under intense pressure. Quartz is the 2nd most abundant mineral found in Earth's crust and is also considered to be the crystalline form of silicon dioxide.
Unlike granite and marble, quartz doesn't require sealing. This feature has made quartz highly popular among homeowners and like any other popular item, there is a high demand for the stone. The laws of demand and supply dictate that the higher the demand, the higher the price hence the high price of the stone.
If you are truly determined to grow quartz crystals at home, you can grow small crystals by heating silicic acid in a pressure cooker. Silicic acid can be made by reacting quartz with water or by acidification of sodium silicate in aqueous solution.
' Quartz is an igneous rock that is composed of oxygen and silicon atoms in a continuous makeup of silicon-oxygen tetrahedra (SiO4). Each individual oxygen atom is shared between two tetrahedra atoms, giving quartz the final chemical formula scientifically known as SiO2.
