Rose Quartz is a pink variety of quartz that occurs in large translucent masses. It is never transparent, and it does not form crystal faces or crystals. It is not a cryptocrystalline variety, however, as it is made up of many intergrown crystal subindividuals.
Rose quartz can be grainy, but the material used for lapidary purposes is built more homogeneously, like the specimen of unknown origin to the right.
The pink variety of quartz that forms crystals is called pink quartz and is covered in its own section. Despite being macrocrystalline varieties of similar color, rose quartz and pink quartz should be treated as different varieties as:
- the cause of their color is not the same,
- pink quartz is sensitive to light, while rose quartz is not
- both varieties form in different environments, and
- pink quartz develops crystals while rose quartz does not.
Rose quartz is used as an ornamental stone or as decoration and is one of the most popular semiprecious gem stones.
Specific Properties
Rose quartz never forms crystals. Quartz crystals of a similar color are called pink quartz.The color can vary from a very bright pink to almost purple. Rose quartz is usually very evenly colored.
The debate about the cause of the color is slowly settling, although there are still a few open questions. For the past 30-40 years it was assumed that rutile TiO2 inclusions are the cause. Other proposals included the presence of irradiation induced color centers, similar to amethyst or smoky quartz, either in included minerals, or in the quartz substance itself.
The color indeed disappears upon heating rose quartz, but at temperatures above 500°C, much higher than the temperatures required to bleach amethyst, certain citrines and smoky quartz, which do have irradiation induced color centers. Heated rose quartz will not regain its color upon irradiation.
Irradiation (both natural or artificial) of rose quartz can lead to the formation of additional smoky quartz centers and according alterations in color. It is therefore unlikely that the color is caused by irradiation induced color centers. On the other hand there are reports of rose quartz from certain locations (Brazil) fading when exposed to sunlight, which supports the presence of color centers.
More recently it has been suggested by Applin and Hicks (1987) that fibrous inclusions of the mineral dumortierite (Al,Fe)7 [O3 | BO3 | (SiO4)3] are responsible for the haze and color of rose quartz. This first sounds like an odd suggestion, as dumortierite is often deeply blue (even the color of its streak), but there are pink variants.
The nature of the colorizing agent in rose quartz has recently been studied by Goreva, Ma and Rossman (2001), following the more "direct" approach that was already chosen by Applin and Hicks: they dissolved rose quartz from various locations in hydrofluoric acid and extracted mats of a fibrous, rose-colored mineral that is related, but apparently not identical to dumortierite.
That mineral makes up only about 0.05% - 0.15% of the overall weight of rose quartz. The mineral will bleach when heated above 500°C, but will not regain its color when irradiated. Color loss can be induced by oxidizing agents, too, and heat treatment in a reducing atmosphere will turn heated and paled material rose-colored again.
Occurrence
Rose quartz occurs in pegmatites. It forms at very high temperatures, between 400°C and 700°C, thus sometimes beyond the inversion temperature at which the transition from low to high quartz takes place (573°C).
These conditions could be called pneumatolytic, that is, the rose quartz grew in a gaseous supercritical phase, not from a watery solution, as most other quartz varieties do. Rose quartz is also found in massive hydrothermal veins, but more rarely.
The fact that the fibers are of submicroscopic size and are at least in certain cases embedded in the quartz substance parallel to certain crystallographic axes is a strong indication that these are epigenetic inclusions that formed by exsolution of trace elements from the crystal lattice: the high temperatures during formation allowed the incorporation of certain small ions into the lattice.
When temperatures were falling and the lattice contracted, the trace elements were slowly "squeezed" out of the quartz lattice and formed fibrous inclusions. So far this is speculation, however.
Rose quartz is usually mined manually from pegmatites, explosives would shatter the rocks and cause fine cracks in the specimen that decrease their value.
Розов кварц
Чакра: сърдечна
Находища: Мадагаскар, Бразилия, Австрия и др.
България - Плана планина, Източни Родопи.
Цвят: розов до бледорозов
Предания:
Според митологията Амур и Ерос са донесли розовия кварц на Земята, за да подтикнат хората чрез неговия жизнерадостен цвят към любов. От хилядолетия е почитан като камък на плодородието.
Ако при шлифоване изпусне лъч, този къс се използва за магически любовни цели.
Считало се е, че розовият кварц притежава силата да запазва приятелството и отваря сетивата на човека за всичко красиво.
Лечебни свойства:
Розовият кварц във вид на необработен къс е най-важният камък за елиминиране на облъчване от вредни лъчи. Поставен върху монитора на компютър, помага за избягване на главоболието и очната преумора.
Подложен до възглавницата, елиминира вредните енергийни полета и подобрява съня. При масажиране на дланите минералът подобрява кръвообращението в целия организъм. Описано е стимулиращо действие върху сексуалността. При желание за сдобиване с дете.
Розовият кварц успокоява болките и помага при проблеми на жлъчния мехур: с обработен минерал няколко пъти на ден се масажира линията между четвъртия пръст и петата на стъпалата.
Тази терапия се прилага и при чернодробни проблеми, като се допълва с масаж на дланите.
Минералът подпомага оздравителния процес след прекаран сърдечен инфаркт: къс от него се поставя няколко пъти дневно върху гръдната кост, вечер се измива и се полага до
главата.
Проблеми с неспокоен сън, страхови неврози и нощно напикаване при децата се отстраняват с продължително контактуване с минерала през деня, след което вечер детето го слага до възглавницата.
Други указания:
Розовият кварц разгръща своята енергия най-силно, когато се постави в стаята в необработен вид. След използване се измива под течаща вода.
------------------------------- © 2010, Красимир Куртев - Алеф автор, All rights reserved!
