Photo of Smoky Quartz in Processed & Rough Form
Smoky Quartz is a mineral with a hardness of 7 out of 10 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness [?]. These Trigonally structured gems are made of silicon dioxide, their full chemical compound being SiO2.
Smoky or Brown Quartz is a commonly occurring quartz mineral that gets it's name from the smoky or cloudy interior.
A well polished piece of yellowish smoky quartz may appear like amber, while a well cut one may look similar to a brown tourmaline or andalusite.
With a Mohs hardness of 7 quartz in general is well suited for jewelry as it will hold a facet or edge fairly well.
Variations called Morion (black) and Cairngorm (smoky) have been found in large deposits throughout the world.
The specific gravity [?] for Smoky Quartz is 2.65, it's refractive index [?] is 1.54-1.55, and it's double refraction [?] is 0.009.
History
Smoky Quartz has been used as a healing stone, and in many rituals throughout the ages. It has been thought by many to contain mystical properties.
Quartz has been used to make arrow and spear heads in the ancient past.
Industrial Usages
Quartz is used to create silicone chips in wafer form. Quartz is used in glass making.
You May Also Like...
Sinhalite: Sinhalite is a magnesium aluminum borate, and is most commonly found as transparent honey-yellow to brown grains or pebbles with an orthorhombic crystal system. It also appears as pale yellowish, yellow, brown, greenish-brown to black. It occurs in contact metamorphic rocks that are rich in boron, among gneiss or granite where limestones are being replaced through contact with magmatic rock. But (read full)
Sardonyx: Sardonyx is a gem variety of reddish-brown colored sard with white or black banded chalcedony or onyx, used to make cameo with the raised black, red, or brown background. It is an example of a layer stone subvariety of Chalcedony, which in turn is a cryptocrystalline variety of Quartz.
Layer stones are multi-layered materials used in the art of gem-carving and engraving, also called glyptog (read full)
Anglesite: Anglesite is a very soft gem just slightly harder than gold and silver and as such it does not hold facets well/cut easily. Because of its softness it tends to scratch, and these scratches will take away from the value and appearance of this gem. Once cut this gem will not do well in rings as it will quickly become scratched and its edges worn round. This gem is usually colorless or clear, but (read full)
Axinite: Axinite is a honey brownish to dark brown gem that is named after the axe head like crystal structures that are usually found. It is usually found in and around granite deposits, and is often mistaken (and sometimes sold by mistake) as smokey quartz. The gem is piezoelectric and because of this has been used to remove hair and lint from unwanted objects. A negative side effect of this is that it (read full)
Chatoyant Quartz: When quartz contains similarly-oriented fibrous inclusions, and is then appropriately-cut, in cabochon, curved stones display what is known as chatoyancy, meaning 'like a cat's eye.' The result is a series of minor gemstones differing only in their ground color and the mobile reflection. Comes in colors white, gray, green, yellow, brown. When the ground color is greenish-gray or green, the gem (read full)
