
Rock Crystal
Clear Quartz
Quartz, crystalline silica (SiO2).
Clear quartz is the colorless variety of crystalline quartz, also known as rock crystal.
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The mineral atlas
Compare color varieties of quartz with silica materials whose inclusions produce sparkle or a moving band of light. The guides distinguish crystal growth, fine-grained hosts, color-causing features and applied treatments.
10 specimens · Geology, history, and spiritual attributes
10 specimens

Rock Crystal
Quartz, crystalline silica (SiO2).
Clear quartz is the colorless variety of crystalline quartz, also known as rock crystal.
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Pink quartz for carving, jewelry and collecting
Pink massive quartz / silicon dioxide
Rose quartz is the familiar pink variety of quartz, usually encountered as cloudy masses rather than sharply pointed natural crystals.
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Violet quartz, from crystal-lined cavities to carved and faceted gems
Purple quartz.
Amethyst is purple quartz.
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Yellow and orange quartz, with a color history worth knowing
Yellow to orange quartz.
Citrine ranges from pale yellow to warm orange and brownish orange.
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Gray and brown quartz shaped by crystal chemistry and irradiation
Brown to near-black quartz.
Smoky quartz ranges from a faint gray-brown tint to a depth that looks nearly black.
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Purple and golden quartz within one crystal
Quartz combining amethyst-purple and citrine-yellow/orange zones.
Ametrine combines the purple of amethyst with the yellow or orange of citrine in a single quartz crystal.
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Mineral needles, growth outlines and trapped fluids within quartz
Quartz containing other minerals or visible growth features.
Included quartz is a collecting category rather than a single mineral variety.
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Quartz with Reflective Mineral Inclusions
Aventurescent quartz-rich material with reflective inclusions.
Aventurine is a quartz-rich material distinguished by small flashes from enclosed mineral flakes.
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Chatoyant Quartz
Chatoyant quartz-rich material associated with fibrous amphibole textures.
Tiger's-eye is a quartz-rich ornamental stone whose golden-brown bands carry a moving, silky reflection.
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Chatoyant Silica with a Patchwork Texture
Trade material with chatoyant fibrous inclusions in microcrystalline quartz.
Pietersite is a silica-rich ornamental material whose blue-gray, gold and reddish-brown patches carry a shifting sheen.
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