Rose quartz

"Rose Quartz" redirects here. For other uses, see Rose Quartz (disambiguation).

Rose quartz is a type of quartz that exhibits a pale pink to rose red hue. The color is usually due to trace amounts of titanium, iron, or manganese in the material. Some rose quartz contains microscopic rutile needles that produce asterism in transmitted light. Recent X-ray diffraction studies suggest that the color is due to thin microscopic fibers of possibly dumortierite within the quartz.^[1]

Rose quartz
Rose quartz from Spain
General
Category	Tectosilicate minerals, quartz variety
Formula	Silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2)
IMA symbol	Qz
Strunz classification	4.DA.05 (Oxides)
Dana classification	75.1.3.1 (Tectosilicates)
Crystal system	Trigonal
Crystal class	Trapezohedral (class 3 2)
Identification
Color	Light pink, rose
Crystal habit	Massive
Cleavage	None
Fracture	Conchoidal
Mohs scale hardness	7
Luster	Vitreous
Streak	White
Diaphaneity	Translucent to opaque
Specific gravity	2.65
Optical properties	Uniaxial (+)
Refractive index	1.544-1.553
Birefringence	0.009
Dispersion	0.013
Common impurities	aluminium, iron

Additionally, there is a rare type of pink quartz (also frequently called crystalline rose quartz) with color that is thought to be caused by trace amounts of phosphate or aluminium. The color in crystals is apparently photosensitive and subject to fading. The first crystals were found in a pegmatite found near Rumford, Maine, US, and in Minas Gerais, Brazil.^[2] The crystals found are more transparent and euhedral, due to the impurities of phosphate and aluminium that formed crystalline rose quartz, unlike the iron and microscopic dumortierite fibers that formed rose quartz.^[3]