If you gaze deep into a crystal ball, you will see a versatile gemstone, one of the most popular gems on earth. Beautiful quartz, the 'rock crystal' used in ancient times to make crystal balls and bowls, is today more often seen set in gold jewellery. Despite the popularity of quartz gems like amethyst, citrine, ametrine, rose quartz, onyx, agates, chrysoprase, rutilated quartz and other varieties, many people in the jewellery industry take quartz for granted because of its affordable price.
Throughout history, quartz has been the common chameleon of gemstones, standing in for more expensive gemstones ranging from diamond to jade. But the incredible variety of quartz is now beginning to be appreciated in its own right.
Purple to violet amethyst and yellow to orange citrine are jewellery staples that continue to increase in popularity. Ametrine combines the appeal of both amethyst and citrine, purple and yellow in one gemstone. Different colours and types of chalcedony, from agate to chrysoprase, have grown in popularity with the growing appreciation for carved gemstones and artistic cutting and carving. And unusual specialities like drusy quartz, with its surface covered by tiny sparking crystals, and rutilated quartz, which has a landscape of shining gold needles inside it, are adding variety and nature's artistry to unusual one-of-a-kind jewellery.
Rose quartz
The pale pink colour of quartz, which can range from transparent to translucent, is known as rose quartz. The colour is a very pale and delicate powder pink. Transparent rose quartz is very rare, and usually so pale that it does not show very much colour at all except in large sizes. Translucent rose quartz is much more readily available, being used for beads, cabochons, carvings, and architectural purposes.
Smoky quartz
