| If you gaze deep inside a crystal
ball, you will see a versatile gemstone, one of the most popular
gems on earth. Beautiful quartz, the "rock crystal"
used in ancient times to make crystal balls and bowls, is
today more often seen set in gold jewelry. Despite the popularity
of quartz gems like amethyst, citrine,
rose quartz, onyx,
agates, chrysoprase,
rutilated quartz, and other
quartz gemstone varieties, many people in the jewelry industry
take quartz for granted because of its affordable price.
 Throughout
history, quartz has been the common chameleon of gemstones,
standing in for more expensive gemstones ranging from diamond
to jade. But the incredible variety of quartz is now beginning
to be appreciated for its own sake.
Purple to violet
amethyst and yellow to orange
citrine are jewelry staples that continue to increase
in popularity. Ametrine combines
the appeal of both amethyst and citrine as well as both
the purple and yellow in one bicolored gemstone. Different
colors and types of chalcedony, from agate to chrysoprase,
have grown in popularity with the growing appreciation for
carved gemstones and art cutting and carving. And unusual
quartz specialties like drusy quartz, with its surface covered
by tiny sparking crystals, and rutilated quartz, which has
a landscape of shining gold needles inside, are adding variety
and nature's artistry to unusual one-of-a-kind jewelry.
Find out more about members
of the Quartz Family:
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