14.5" Smoky Quartz Crystal Cluster on Metal Stand - Brazil

Smoky Quartz Crystal Cluster on Metal Stand - Brazil #219126

This is a dark black, smoky quartz crystal cluster from Brazil. This crystal has a mixture of polished and natural faces for easier viewing of inclusions and overall aesthetic enhancement. The polishing can be found on the facets of one of the crystals, and two of the sides (body) of the largest crystal. It has not been heated or treated to change the natural color. This specimen is accompanied by a custom metal display stand.

About Quartz

Quartz is the name given to silicon dioxide (SiO2) and is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust. Quartz crystals generally grow in silica-rich environments--usually igneous rocks or hydrothermal environments like geothermal waters--at temperatures between 100°C and 450°C, and usually under very high pressure. In either case, crystals will precipitate as temperatures cool, just as ice gradually forms when water freezes. Quartz veins are formed when open fissures are filled with hot water during the closing stages of mountain formation: these veins can be hundreds of millions of years old.

Smoky quartz is a grey-brown to black variety of quartz. This common name is derived from the appearance of smoke within the quartz crystal. Depending on the location and the chemicals present during formation, smoky quartz can appear opaque black, but it is typically translucent to some extent. It is believed that the quartz gains this color from a combination of natural irradiation and aluminum impurities.

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