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RUTILATED QUARTZ PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

• Quartz chemical composition: SiO₂
• Rutile chemical composition: TiO₂
• Crystal habit: Macroscopic quartz crystals commonly occur as horizontally striated hexagonal prisms terminated by a combination of positive and negative rhombohedrons forming six sided pyramids. Prism faces and/or rhombohedral terminations may be lacking, poorly developed or predominant resulting in diverse possible crystal habits. Trigonal tapezohedral faces can occur in the upper right or left of alternating prism faces identifying right or left handed crystals, respectively. Rutile crystals within the quartz generally enter one end or side of the quartz and exit the opposite side completely traversing the entire quartz crystal. These rutile crystals usually occur with small diameters between 0.1mm and 1.0mm.
  
• Hardness: quartz 7, rutile 6 to 6.5
• Color: the quartz can be colorless, brown to gray, yellow or purple. Rutile can form in a variety of colors, and occaisionally grades from one color into another in the same specimen.
• Luster: vitreous
• Transparency: opaque to transparent
• Cleavage: none
• Fracture: conchoidal
• Streak: white

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QUARTZ (Rutilated Quartz) BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Rutilated quartz is a macrocrystalline variety of the mineral Quartz (SiO₂). Quartz is the most abundant single mineral on earth. It makes up about 12% of the earth's crust, occurring in a wide variety of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.

Quartz varieties are commonly separated into two groups based on the size of the individual grains or crystals; macrocrystalline quartz in which individual crystals are distinguishable with the naked eye, and cryptocrystalline quartz in which the individual crystals are too small to be easily distinguishable under the light microscope.

Some of the macrocrystalline quartz varieties are: Amethyst, Ametrine, Cat's-eye Quartz, Citrine, Phantom Quartz, Rock Crystal, Rose Quartz, Rutilated Quartz and Smoky Quartz.

Blue Aventurine Quartz and Green Aventurine Quartz are actually quartzites (a rock, not a mineral) composed essentially of interlocking macrocrystalline quartz grains with disseminated grains of other color imparting minerals.

The cryptocrystalline varieties of quartz may be separated into two types; fibrous and microgranular. Chalcedony is the general term applied to the fibrous cryptocrystalline varieties. Agate is a well known example of a fibrous cryptocystalline banded chalcedony variety of quartz. Carnelian, Chrysoprase and bloodstone are other chalcedony varieties.
Chert is the general term applied to the granular cryptocrystalline varieties of quartz, of which flint and Jasper are examples.

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RUTILATED QUARTZ OCCURANCE AND DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES

Many different minerals can form as inclusions within quartz. One of the most important varieties of included quartz for gem use is rutilated quartz. Rutilated quartz usually occurs as rutilated rock crystal, rutilated smoky quartz or rutilated milky quartz.
Rutilated quartz forms in quartz veins, usually with milky quartz bordering the vein with quartz crystals growing in toward the center, growing around and enveloping the rutile crystals traversing the vein.
Natural radiation from radioactive elements or adjacent radioactive rocks can cause rutilated rock crystal to assume a brown to gray color, known as rutilated smoky quartz.

Rutilated quartz is recognized by the characteristic rutile crystals passing through the quartz. It can be identified as quartz by its crystal habit, transparency, hardness, glassy luster, conchoidal fracture, occurance and general lack of cleavage.

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RUTILATED QUARTZ HISTORICAL INFORMATION AND USES

Pliny wrote nearly 2000 years ago that quartz crystals formed from ice by intense cold for long periods of time in dark clefts and caverns in the mountains. This general belief was popular in diverse cultures until the eighteenth century, when modern geology began to develope in Europe.

Rutilated quartz has been used as gemstones and other ornamental and religous objects for thousands of years.

Rutilated quartz has been referred to as Venus hair stone, Cupid's darts and Fleches d'amour.

The name quartz comes from the Saxon word querklufterz which meant cross vein ore.The name rutile comes from the Latin word rutilus meaning red.

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RUTILATED QUARTZ METAPHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Rutile is said to intensify the metaphysical properties of its host quartz crystal (see the metaphysical properties of rock crystal or smoky quartz). Rutilated quartz is also said to enhance one's understanding in difficult situations, thus facilitating timely and appropriate solutions. It is also said to relieve depression and loneliness, and to help provide new direction and enhance creativity.

Rutilated quartz is said to slow down the aging process and to help strengthen the immune system. It is also said to be a strong healer and to be helpfull in recovering from radiation exposure.

For more in-depth metaphysical information, see our Metaphysical Books section.

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