My Crystals: Quartz

Quartz:

Quartz is the most abundant minerals on Earth. Like Most crystals it has the typical Silicon and Oxygen compound (SiO2). This one robust point I got from Amazon.uk. They are realtively cheap due to how common it is. You have quartz infused in glass, in granite, in watches and in many different gemstones. This is a 3-side sketch I made of the various sides and features on my quartz. The top part of the point is mostly transparent with many complicated cracks inside the thick crystal. It is 4inchs long. Most things I notice about Quartz points in the raw are that the base which is where the point is attached to the cluster of points is very opaque or translucent. In Quatz terms, it is milky at the base and as the point develops it gets clearer and clearer farther from the base till the tip off the point.

 This is the biggest side on the crystal. If you look very closely on the flat sides, or by reflecting light from the side into your eyes (which highlights the surface details) you see linear patterns and many interesting designs!! I think that is due to the layering while it was crystallizing.

 As I was saying you can see the gradient of clarity. You might notice the tip has many dents and is chipped off, well thats due to me dropping it constantly. Despite that its a hard rock, Moh 7 is not a joke :P

There are many things you can do with Quartz for fun. Try passing lasers through the crystal to see a multitude of interference patterns. Try putting it under UV or black light. Go wild with this stuff! You never know what might happen!
Its Great for one to have a good sized Quartz specimen in his collection as it is the basic crystal which is cheap and stunning at the same time!!
They come in many colours. Amethyst, Citrine are some gemstones which are actually impure Quartz. Agate is a slice of a Quartz geode too!