Tourmalinated Quartz
Quartz & Crystal Family
Tourmalinated quartz is not a separate mineral species. It is rock crystal quartz containing visible tourmaline crystals, commonly black iron-rich schorl. The enclosed rods or needles record minerals that grew together in pegmatitic environments and may cross the quartz in several directions.
Identity
- Material or variety
- Tourmalinated Quartz
- Scientific or material identity
- Quartz
- Classification
- Natural mineral or mineral variety
- Composition or formula
- SiO₂
- Crystal system or structure
- Trigonal
- Geological or manufacturing origin
- Can form in more than one geological environment, or combines several materials.
- Mohs hardness
- 7
- Specific gravity
- 2.65
Origins
Brazil
Appearance & optical properties
clear quartz crossed by black tourmaline needles.
Uses & care
- Common uses
- Clear pieces with striking inclusions are faceted or cut as cabochons for jewelry, while crystal groups and polished sections are collected as mineral specimens.
- Handling and cleaning
- Wash with warm soapy water and avoid steam, ultrasonic cleaning, high heat, and sudden temperature changes. Included crystals and fractures can make an otherwise hard quartz piece more vulnerable to damage.
Jewellery
5 pieces of Tourmalinated Quartz jewellery. Learners earn each one in DigMyGem by learning words; until then it shows as a silhouette.
Black Reed Ring
Ring
Black tourmaline rods cross clear quartz like reeds in a frozen pond.
Inkline Pendant
Pendant
A quartz drop laced with dark lines, as if ink had been drawn through it.
Shadow Quill Tiara
Tiara
A tiara whose quartz points carry dark quills of tourmaline.
Ink and Ice Cuff
Bracelet
An imagined cuff set with clear quartz crossed by black needles of tourmaline, like strokes of ink frozen in ice.
Ink and Frost Goblet
Jewel
An imagined goblet carved from tourmalinated quartz, clear as frost and crossed by black needles like strokes of ink.