Q is for Quartz

Quartz from Tibet - pic courtesy of Wikipedia

Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth’s continental crust, behind feldspar.  There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are semi-precious gemstones.  Since antiquity, varieties of quartz have been the most commonly used minerals for making jewelry and carvings.

Pure quartz is colorless and transparent.  The other colors of quartz are mixed with other minerals.  This colored quartz are semi-precious stones for making jewelry and other decorative pieces.

Amethyst - pic courtesy of Wikipedia

There are many varieties of these, but I’ll just mention a few.  Purple quartz is amethyst.  The largest deposit is found in Brazil.  Amethyst is formed when there is iron in the area.  

Citrine - pic courtesy of Wikipedia

Citrine is a variety of quartz that ranges from pale yellow to brown due to the ferric impurities.  Natural citrines are rare.  Most commercial citrines are heat-treated amethyst, or smoky quartz's.  Brazil is the leading producer of citrine.  Citrine has been referred to as “money stone” due to the superstition that it would bring prosperity.

Rose Quartz - pic courtesy of Wikipedia

Rose quartz is pale pink to rose red in color.  This is due to trace amounts of titanium, iron, or manganese.

A quartz crystal jug from the 16th century.  This piece is in the National Museum in Warsaw.  

Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

Quartz is very common in sedimentary rocks, such as sandstone and shale.  Quartz is a defining essential of granite.

Almost all of the quartz crystals used today in the electronics industry are synthetic.

M is for Malachite

Malachite is a beautiful stone with layers of light and dark green.  This makes it easy to recognize.  The lines can be straight, curvy or wiggly. 

Malachite, isn't this beautiful?

Malachite often results from the weathering of copper ores.  It is typically associated with copper deposits around limestone.  Sometimes it’s found as stalactites in caves.  Wouldn’t that be an amazing sight?

This malachite is from Arizona 

Malachite is found worldwide.  Arizona is the most notable place in the US.

Malachite specimens

Malachite can be used for ornaments, furniture and jewelry.  There are large vases in museums.

Malachite - this vase is in Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg

When I lived in Alaska in the 1970’s, we sold malachite and other gemstones, such as turquoise, in the leather store I worked in.  We had lots of items that used stone embellishments.  I still have a purse I made in the leather shop there and it has a drilled malachite closure.

Photos courtesy of Wikipedia and a gemstone site in the UK

K is for Kunzite

Kunzite is a pink to lilac gemstone.  The coloring is from trace amounts of manganese.  Some kunzite has been heated or eradiated to enhance the color for jewelry.

Kunzite pic courtesy of Wikipedia

It was discovered in 1902 so is relatively new in the world of minerals.  It gets its name from George Frederick Kunz who was the chief jeweler at Tiffany and Co at the time.  He was a noted mineralogist. 

Kunzite from Afghanistan courtesy of Wikipedia

Kunzite is found in Brazil, the US, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Western Australia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.  The Duchess of Glouchester wears kunzite in her tiara and has a necklace made with this mineral.

J is for Jasper

Kaleidoscope jasper

This is what I usually think of for jasper

Jasper is a form of quartz that is usually red, yellow, green or brown, or a mixture of these colors that when polished makes beautiful jewelry.  The name means “speckled stone.”  Like many minerals, Jasper forms from volcanic ash.  Patterns arise during the consolidation process.  Sometimes the original materials are fractured allowing other colorful minerals to fill in the gaps.

Polished jasper

Yellow jasper

This is a jasper bowl from Russia late 19th century- all pics courtesy of Wikipedia

Jasper was popular in the ancient world because it breaks with a smooth surface and is easily refined.  Weathering with time will create intensely colored pieces of jasper.  Today sometimes the jasper is named for the region where it originates, such as Biggs jasper from Oregon and Bruneau jasper from the Bruneau River in Idaho.  There’s also one called Llanddwyn Island jasper from Wales 

H is for Hematite

Hematite is the mineral form of iron oxide.  Hematite is harder than iron, but also more brittle.  It ranges in color from black to silver-gray and brown to reddish-brown and red.  Gray hematite is found in places with standing water such as mineral hot springs, or a lake or stream.  In places without water, it usually occurs as a product of volcanic activity.

Raw hematite courtesy of Wikipedia

Hematite’s most popular time in jewelry was during the Victorian era in Europe.

Carved bear courtesy of Wikipedia

Huge deposits of hematite are found in banded iron formations.  There’s a type of red hematite that’s used in traditional Swedish house paint.