Smoky Quartz Crystal Cluster

Smoky Quartz

A very common, coarse-grained variety of the silica mineral that ranges in colour from nearly black through smoky brown. No distinct boundary exists between smoky and colourless. Its abundance causes it to be worth considerably less than either or. Heating bleaches the
stone, the colour sometimes passing through yellow; these yellow pieces are often sold as. Crystals of the mineral frequently contain inclusions of gas (carbon dioxide), liquid (often both water and liquid carbon dioxide), or solids (rutile). Smoky from Mount Cairngorm, Scotland, is known as cairngorm and is a favourite ornamental stone in Scotland, where it is worn in brooches with Highland costume. Its properties are those of other stones. Today, the vast majority of smoky is mined in Brazil, but it is found in most of the major gem producing nations.

Smoky is quite often sold in the trade as smoky. 99% of the time a gem offered as smoky is actually this variety of. Since is a separate mineral, this type of name can be confusing and should be clearly disclosed as to which gem is actually being presented, since also occurs in a brown color.