Quartz: what does a stone look like and what properties does it have?

In the bowels of our planet there is a huge amount of minerals, the basis of which is often quartz. Ornamental as well as semiprecious gems are varieties of quartz. This "hard worker" is accustomed to the role of magic and healing stone, although it is incorrect to speak about it in general terms - each variety of quartz has its own name, external features and properties.

Quartz is the parent rock of planetary materials. The fact that this nugget can be found in many places is evidenced by the fact that it occupies 60% of the Earth's lithosphere. The stone was known to our ancestors around the world - this is evidenced by artifacts associated with the culture of the Celts and Saxons, Indians and Japanese. But the description of the stone is not yet a complete chemical study, because it has become available to people relatively recently. Modern chemical studies of quartz stone have shown that most of the gems found belong to it.

Previously, people used this word to mean only colorless or colored nuggets. The value of the stone was appreciated by alchemists, they gave it a lot of magical properties. Other minerals, although they belonged to quartz, were considered by people as independent stones. The kinship of the breeds was discovered many centuries later. Nowadays, chemical studies can give a thorough answer about the origin of the stone, properties, its age.

Today, people do not just know what quartz looks like. Of great importance also was its physical characteristic: the stone was used for optical constructs of technology, it also became a generator of sound and electromagnetic waves in piezoelectric devices. Finally, Quartz is also useful for humans by the fact that it is used in glass production; it is indispensable in the manufacture of fire-prevention materials.

In the 16th century, vessels of various shapes made of stone were, as they would say today, at the height of fashion. They were decorated with gilding, emeralds, rubies and diamonds. Nero, the same legendary ancient Greek emperor, had a special passion for transparent quartz. And a unique thing was found in the tomb of the no less famous Tutankhamun: it resembled glasses for protection from the sun, and Egyptian craftsmen made them from morion, black quartz (translucent).

In the last century, mankind has learned to grow a quartz crystal. Synthetic stone acquired new properties: a man managed to grow a stone of optimal size, shape, symmetry. And, as already noted, the quartz used in the manufacture of high-precision devices should be improved. And synthetic methods help with this. Finally, artificial mineral is also valuable in jewelry. Masters can grow crystals of such shades that cannot be found in nature.

If you decide to get carried away with stones, and you are attracted to mineralogy or lithotherapy, then one of the first stones that is worth exploring will be quartz. There is really a lot of unique in this nugget.

Quartz is found on our planet everywhere. It is mined by career method or manually. The nugget lies in dolomites, placers of rocks, limestones. Mountains and plains, river deltas and the shores of the seas - all these are possible geolocations of quartz. For industry, monomineral quartz sand is of particular value.

Among the world leading countries by the location of quartz can be identified Mexico, Brazil, Ukraine, Uruguay, Madagascar, Kazakhstan. Several large quartzite mining zones are noted on Russian territory: Chukotka and Kamchatka, Yakutia, the Urals.

The value of a mineral depends on its shade. Yes, perhaps this is a subjective characteristic, but it looks like demand. Color decides a lot, because some varieties of the nugget are more popular, others less. For a long time there is a strictly built scale of the most and least valuable quartz rocks. We will describe some of them.

• Rhinestone. There is such a film with Sylvester Stallone, and the viewer likes it with just one name, romantic and beautiful. Rhinestone is different from all other types of quartz - mainly for its transparency and radiance.

• Morion. The very stone that served as the basis for the pharaoh's sunglasses. The mineral has a rich black color. It can be either transparent or opaque.

• Hairy. The nugget received such a talking name because of its rare, even extravagant appearance. In this translucent rock crystal there are fine needle crystals of other nuggets. Rutile and tourmaline threads externally really resemble needles, thin hairs.

• Prase. So called green quartz. In its formula there is actinolite and other minerals, which explains the emerald hue.

• Rose quartz. Semiprecious stone. In the East, this nugget is called the "stone of the heart", saying that the mere contemplation of the nugget fills the heart of the beholder with love.

• Rauchtopaz. Another name is smoky quartz. This is a very transparent quartz with a non-standard shade. The color scheme - from gray-smoky to deep brown. Gray color prevails.

• Amethyst. The most valuable representative of quartz is a precious (not semi-precious, like many others) stone. The most common amethyst color is purple. You can see stones with a purple-pink or purple-red hue.

• Citrine. Another popular quartz nugget. It is sometimes called the "yellow diamond."This, of course, is not a diamond, but the golden, lemon shades in combination with the radiance give an impressive aesthetic effect.

• Rauchcitrin. This is a mixture of citrine and rauchtopaz. Its modulations are very beautiful, brown and yellow shades are unusually brightly combined.

• Cat's eye. He is also considered a pleasure for the esthete: the stone can be pinkish, gray or white. And the main thing in it is the luminous outflow of amazing beauty.

• Ametrine. Rare quartz mineral. Its color is very unexpected - the violet-lilac color is diluted with yellow.

These were descriptions of crystalline quartz. But there is still cryptocrystalline quartz, also rich in its representatives. For instance, translucent chalcedony, - Both white and honey shades of it will not leave the esthete indifferent. Agate - this is a variety of chalcedony, and the original agate is that it is distinguished by its original layered-banded structure.

It looks interesting and chrysolite: the stone is transparent, yellowish or greenish. There are representatives more faded, but there are saturated ones. A fragile type of mineral is aventurine. Particularly this stone makes interspersing iron mica. Known to so many cornelian - it is red or pink quartz, which is distinguished by a unique radiance.

No less popular is onyx. Its color is brown, but it can be diluted with black or white patterns. Sometimes it includes plane-parallel layers of pale honey, pink, and brown. No less beautiful and sapphirin - blue shade of quartz with a coarse-grained structure.

In jewelry, many quartz varieties look fascinatingly beautiful. Masters give them a special cut, and if it is a precious metal, the product will definitely be expensive to the owner. Here it is worth mentioning the qualities that the owner himself will endow with quartz. Someone will be limited to admiring its tints and interweaving of shades, while someone will expect the action of a special energy. No scientific data will convince the latter in a certain exaggeration of these magical and healing properties.

And sometimes it’s not necessary to convince. Talismans and amulets, according to many experts, work on the placebo effect. And if wearing a rose quartz ring helps someone in their personal lives - that's fine. The installation worked, there is a result, and this is important.

Quartz is a mineral from the oxide class. As already noted, this is the most common earth nugget.

The physical properties of quartz look like this:

• the luster of the stone is glass, greasy in a break;
• cleavage is not;
• fracture of the nugget is conchoid;
• crystals have the shape of a hexagonal prism, which is accompanied by a pyramid-cap;
• crystal faces are covered by transverse hatching;
• crystals grown or grown;
• stroke color is white;
• may contain inclusions - more often these are gases and liquids that are visualized by bubbles;
• the hardness of the stone is large - it will leave a scratch on the glass;
• insoluble in acids;
• refers to glass forming oxides;
• has a number of polymorphic modifications;
• often forms doubles;
• the radioactivity of the stone is 0;
• the melting point is difficult due to the high viscosity, is approximately 1728 degrees;
• magnetism - no;
• the measured density is 2.65 g / cm3.

Since there are a lot of types of quartz, it is almost impossible to determine in general terms their magical and healing properties - this will be a very rough description. Each quartz stone is unique. But to the so-called pure quartz, the most approximate are the nuggets of light shades and colorless.

The main treatment area for the mineral is considered to be the nervous system, skin, respiratory system. Moreover, medicinal is called water infused with quartz. The nugget must be placed in a container of water for a day, then the resulting infusion is filtered. The tool is used for therapeutic baths and baths.

Attribute to the stone and magical properties. In ancient times, the mineral was actively used in various kinds of rituals. Those same crystal balls, which many associate with magic and rituals, were made of rock crystal. Previously lenses were made from it, which were used by priests in ancient temples to light the sacred fire.

The structure of the use of quartz in magic:

• rhinestone - a mineral that helps to develop extrasensory perception in a person;

• tourmaline quartz - a stone that cleanses the soul from the effects of personal dramas, as well as a mineral that accumulates negative energy, releasing a person from it;

• muddy colored milk crystals (there are plenty of such representatives of quartz) they allow a person to plunge into himself - if you need a period of calm and reflection, this is a good option;

• cornelian associated with love magic, the owners of this stone, according to such a theory, it is easier to find a lover - an intuition appears that helps to identify "your man";

• everything quartz mineralshaving smoky colors will suit managers: they energize leadership, help to plan, separate the main from the secondary, and concentrate on the main goal.

Silver is considered a good setting for quartz. This alliance is remarkable because silver enhances the properties of quartz and vice versa. If such an amulet is given to you by a person who sincerely loves you, he will help you. The stone is capable of revealing talents that up to this point you might not have suspected. Also, amulets with silver-framed quartz are often given to girls who go to live in another city or country.

Believing in such a power of stone is everyone's personal business. People who prefer to approach everything from a scientific point of view are rather skeptical about the properties of a stone of a healing and magical nature. But among those who believe in the power of the mineral, there are many people with mathematical, chemical, biological education. Not everything can be decomposed into hypotheses and evidence, there are simply observations that make it possible to reason at the level of intuition, premonition.

The mineral has found application in a variety of fields. Probably everyone knows how quartz is used in the lighting industry.If you saw quartz pipes, you imagine how one of the hypostases of the mineral looks like. There are bactericidal lamps in medical facilities, and when the chamber closes for quartzing, this means that the time has come for a special procedure.

Quartzing of indoor air allows you to fight colds, helps in the treatment of certain dermatological diseases. Quartzing can also disinfect food products. In dentistry, quartz is also used for sanitation of the oral cavity, some medical procedures.

Rhinestone has proven itself in the cosmetic field. Many well-known anti-aging agents contain microparticles of quartz. But since not everyone can buy branded products, there is an alternative cheaper - You can use silica water for washing.

The water, which is infused for a couple of days on quartz, can be compared with a liquid from the purest mountain sources, with melted glacial water. They cook food on it and just drink it (but don't get carried away).

Consider where else quartz is used.

• In electronics. Generators and resonators are made using quartz in this area. Mineral is also used as a stabilizer of the frequency grid in phones. A nugget is also used in watchmaking. In some respects, quartz watches are superior to mechanical ones.

• Household. As a decorative material, quartz is used in the manufacture of tableware and some interior elements. In the ceramic industry, it is also often used to complement.

• Jewelcrafting. Earrings, rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants - quartz is actively used by jewelers, since the stone literally asks for in the hands of the master. As already noted, silver is an excellent partner for the mineral. In his "fetters" the aesthetic properties of the stone are revealed as much as possible.

• Construction. In this area, the use of quartz includes raw materials for silicate blocks, cement and concrete mortars, and the addition of silica sand to building mixtures.

• Dentistry Quartz is used for the production of porcelain crowns.

It is difficult to quickly describe all areas where this particular mineral is used. It is included in the composition of mercury devices, it produces devices that do not allow UV radiation, and also from quartz make parts for high-tech medical equipment.

You may have a casket interspersed with quartz at home, a lotion with quartz chips on your shelf with cosmetics, a quartz watch on your hands, and an onyx pendant on your chest. This suggests that even if we had heard little about quartz before and had little idea of ​​what it was, we met this mineral quite often.

Quartz has too many varieties to strictly answer the question of who suits this stone. For example, if we are talking about rock crystal, then Leo, Taurus, Pisces and Libra are more likely to choose it - with these signs the mineral helps to find spiritual harmony, find peace, relieve irritability and relieve impulsive actions.

Smoky crystals (rauchtopaz) will become a powerful talisman for Scorpions - it is believed that these nuggets are able to restrain passionate natures that can offend reluctantly, to say something that would not be worth talking about. Citrine is a stone that is more suitable for Gemini, it increases intuitive abilities, helps in solving financial problems. There are other important points to consider.

• Rhinestone - one of the most powerful energy conductors. Therefore, this stone is suitable for those who have seriously decided to engage in the development of their own extrasensory perception.If you notice that your predictions and dreams tend to come true, amulets and other rock crystal jewelry will enhance these abilities.
• Milk White Quartz suitable for those people who are going to strengthen contact with the inner world. Meditation lovers take these stones with them for rituals. They help to distract from the hustle and bustle, allow you to remain in silence, peace, concentration even in the very center of the metropolis, on a noisy street or in the office.
• Cornelian suitable for those who intend to part with a single life. It is not necessary to place all hopes only on him, but it is believed that the stone attracts people close to you in the aspect of personal relationships. It is believed that carnelian, like a conductor of love and sensuality, will attract people with the psychotype you need. In this sense, it can be said that quartz mineral works like a filter.
• Amethysts it makes sense to wear people with a temperamental, explosive. They reassure the owner, cool his ardor, bring to action a healthy share of prudence, leisurely conclusions.
• Snow quartz suitable for leaders, those who constantly need to "pump" business acumen and initiative, the ability to be above the situation.

It is impossible to say that a mineral may not suit someone at all. This is a neutral stone in this sense. Just remember that there are a lot of varieties, carefully read the characteristics.

Caring for a mineral is not very difficult. If you are doing everything meticulously and by the rules, you can purchase a special cleaning agent in a jewelry store. This is a balanced composition, which from time to time you need to wipe the decoration.

Soap solution is what suits many types of quartz. For example, women’s favorite rose quartz is washed well in soapy water, but if you do not wash it very well under cold water, a film will remain on the stone, due to which the nugget will fade. It is advisable to rinse the stone with filtered water.

Initially, the mineral does not need soap baths. Once a week, substitute the stone under a stream of warm (not hot!) Water, dry it, this will be enough. All soap manipulations are necessary for old stones that need additional cleaning. There is another option: the same rose quartz can be buried in salt, hold for several hours there.

Try to treat stones as a wonderful creation of nature. You should not endow them with magic and incur the burden of expectations and possible disappointments. Calmness and prudence will not do much harm in this matter.

About what properties quartz has, see the next video.