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Field CollectingTangerine quartz

24th Jul 2012 17:03 UTCSophiaJoy MB

Does the tangerine color on Tangerine quartz get rustier if I leave one in water for a long time?

How about leaving one in a room for years?

Thanks! :)-D

24th Jul 2012 21:21 UTCRock Currier Expert

Can you give us a locality and a picture of your tangerine quartz?

25th Jul 2012 14:59 UTCSophiaJoy MB

I don't have any yet, I was thinking of buying some...:)-D

25th Jul 2012 16:33 UTCDonald Slater

For most of the ones I have seem I think that the color is from impurities inside the quartz and therefore would not get rustier if left in water and almost sure would not change in the air. But someone maybe calling quartz with an iron staining on the outside tangerine quartz so Rock is right it would be best to see the crystals and know where they are from. I am not sure if a light iron staining on quartz would get rustier in water because it is essentially rust already.

25th Jul 2012 22:29 UTCRock Currier Expert

I have seen two types of quartz that have been labeled tangerine quartz. One is quartz crystals that have had iron deposited on them (by man) to give them a nice bright orange color. The other has been quartz crystals from the Orange River area of Namibia/Republic of South Africa that have been stained a variety of red/orange/brown colors by fine grained iron minerals that are sometimes given the name limonite. This is sort of mineralogical "dirt". You must admit that it is much better sales wise to offer tangerine quartz than dirty orange colored quartz or quartz diddled by man. Before you buy any you may want to ask some questions from the supplier about just what kind of quartz he is selling and where it is from.

26th Jul 2012 02:01 UTCSophiaJoy MB

Thank you very much!

I didn't know that the color of tangerine quartz can be from the impurities inside. I thought it was only on the outside.

And also I didn't know that the color can be made by man.

I became very curious, so today I bought some tangerine quartz. I'm going to attach the pictures.

The lady said these are from Brazil...

26th Jul 2012 12:33 UTCRock Currier Expert

Those I am pretty sure are natural crystals and not coated by iron. They are colored by fine grained iron compounds that may be on the outside, the inside of the crystal or both. Often you can tell by looking at the surface with a powerful magnifying glass or a binocular microscope. They could be from a number of different localities. Did your supplier give you a locality?

26th Jul 2012 15:30 UTCJohn M Stolz Expert

Those look natural to me too. The latest "What's Hot in Tucson" has some of Irv Brown's pieces of orange quartz from a 11/2011 find--I forgot the African continent whereabouts

26th Jul 2012 16:59 UTCSophiaJoy MB

Thank you for your replies! :-)

The lady I bought those from didn't know where they are from in Brazil.

So, if what you see on tangerine quartz is not limonite, you would think it is iron coated by man?

26th Jul 2012 21:25 UTCRock Currier Expert

I don't think the color has been added by man, but I also don't think they are from Brazil. I have imported tons of quartz from various places in Brazil and have never seen any like that. Exactly where they are from is known by someone, but your supplier would have to talk to the person she got them from and so on back down the line till you got to the real locality.

27th Jul 2012 03:06 UTCLuiz Alberto Dias Menezes, Fo.

These tangerine quartz crystals were found on the Diamantina region, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and the color is caused my micro hematite inclusions located inside the quartz, very close to the surface, so the color will not change with time.

27th Jul 2012 14:32 UTCRock Currier Expert

Luiz,

Was this a recent find? do you know the locality?

27th Jul 2012 22:51 UTCLuiz Alberto Dias Menezes, Fo.

No, it was originally found about 8 years ago; the locality is indeed in Buenópolis (Engenheiro Dolabela district, near the border with Diamantina)

30th Jul 2012 04:55 UTCSophiaJoy MB

Thank you very much!!

28th Nov 2014 19:40 UTCJordan

Luiz, have you heard of similar quartz but with larger black and red included specks instead of the orange micro inclusions?

28th Nov 2014 19:57 UTCJordan

Picture, sorry for quality. Several of these came in a large parcel of tangerine quartz, identical stuff to what the original poster added pictures of. Just wondering if it's still just hematite included, and what all the tiny etched 'pits' are caused by. Thanks for the help!

2nd Dec 2014 12:47 UTCNorman King 🌟 Expert

I acquired this specimen 4-5 years ago from an old Brazilian mining engineer who ran Brazil Minerals, and sold mainly Brazilian material he acquired during his career (the website is no longer up). He attributed it to Diamantina, Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil. I posted the photo just over a week ago.

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