Rose Quartz

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Rose Quartz Crystal Locality (Pegmatite 24), Newry, Oxford Co., Maine, USA
© Rob Lavinsky

Lustre:	Vitreous

A variety of Quartz

A rose-pink variety of Quartz, usually found massive and showing a hazy to translucent character due to microscopic inclusions. Rose quartz crystals are found in granite pegmatites and have their color attributed to Phosphorus substituting for Silicon. A few people have suggested that rose quartz crystals, which owe their coloration to P substituting for Si, be called by a different varietal name "pink quartz". Rose-colored quartz specimens which have hematite inclusions or surface staining have been called ferruginous quartz, while other pale pink-appearing quartzes may be due to other inclusions or to transmission of colors from associated minerals. Pale amethyst has also been confused with rose quartz. The historical usage of rose quartz has recognized that there are other kinds of rose-colored quartzes, which are pale-colored variants of other kinds of quartz.

Recent research indicates that the color of much true Rose Quartz may be due to microscopic inclusions of a fibrous mineral, such as Dumortierite or a dumortierite-related species (Goreva et al., 2001; Ma et al., 2002; Kibar et al., 2007).

Classification of Rose Quartz

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Physical Properties of Rose Quartz

Lustre:

Vitreous

Other Names for Rose Quartz

Synonyms:

Bohemian Ruby

Pink Quartz

Quarzo rosa

Other Languages:

German:	Rosenquarz
Simplified Chinese:	芙蓉石

Other Information

Health Warning:

No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

References for Rose Quartz

Reference List:

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Fraser, H. J., 1930, Paragenesis of the Newry Pegmatite, Maine, American Mineralogist, 15, 349-364

D. Maschmeyer, G. Lehmann (1983): A trapped-hole center causing rose coloration of natural quartz. Zeitschr. Kristallogr., 163, 181-186.

K.R. Applin, B.D. Hicks (1987): Fibers of dumortierite in quartz. American Mineralogist, 72, xx-xx.

Mineralogy of Maine, v. 1 p. 290-291 by King and Foord [1994] and v. 2 [King, 2000] p. 172.

V.S. Balitsky, I.B. Makhina, V.I. Prygov, A.A. Mar'in, A.G. Emel'henko, E. Fritsch, S.F. McClure, L. Taijing, D. DeGhionno, J.I. Koivula, J.E. Shigley (1998): Russian Synthetic Pink Quartz. Gems and Gemology, 34, 34-43.

Goreva, J.S., Chi, Ma, G.S. Rossman (2001) Fibrous nanoinclusions in massive rose quartz: the origin of rose coloration American Mineralogist: 86: 466-471.

Ma, C., Goreva, J.S. & Rossman, G.S. (2002) Fibrous nanoinclusions in massive rose quartz: HRTEM and AEM investigations American Mineralogist: 87: 269–276.

Kibar, R.; Garcia-Guinea, J.; Cetin, A.; Selvi, S.; Karal, T.; Can, N. (2007): Luminescent, optical and color properties of natural rose quartz. Radiation Measurements 42, 1610-1617.