![]() ![]() Pink Quartz crystals are rarely larger than an inch or two in size. But these specimens attracted little attention from mineralogists or collectors at the time, Initially, they were assumed to be a rare, atypical subvariety of rose quartz. Pink quartz, a pink macrocrystalline variety of quartz, was discovered in pegmatites at Rumford, Maine, and first described in mineralogical journals in 1938. Usually aligned along the axes of quartz’s hexagonal crystals, these inclusions also explain the six-rayed asterism that appears in the star variety of rose quartz. After dissolving rose quartz from several different sources in hydrofluoric acid, researchers have recovered residues of flaky, pink-colored nanofibers, most consisting of dumortierite and other aluminum borosilicates.Īlthough these nanofibers make up only about one-tenth of one percent of the overall weight of rose quartz, they are highly reflective and create both its characteristic pink color and its soft translucency. More recent studies have shown the pink color is because of fibrous inclusions. These impurities were thought to distort the crystal lattice, causing it to reflect and transmit red wavelengths of light which the human eye perceives as varying shades of pink. Mineralogists had traditionally attributed the color of rose quartz to traces of titanium and, to a lesser extent, iron and manganese. Translucent and with uniform color distribution, it is found mainly in the core zones of granite pegmatites. Rose quartz always occurs in massive form without crystal faces or terminations. Rose Quartz Pin this post to save this information for later. While similar to rose quartz in color, it differs markedly in structure, degree of transparency, origin of color, occurrence, rarity, and cost. ![]() Pink quartz is a much lesser-known variety of quartz. Its delicate pink color, soft translucency, and affordability make it a popular gemstone. Rose quartz ranks high among the most attractive and familiar of the many color varieties of quartz. A section of golden-yellow citrine occupies the center of this cluster of pink quartz crystals. ![]()
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