All About Rose Quartz

4 Comments / Lapidary Tips, Wellness and Metaphysical /
Courtenay Rose Quartz

WHAT IS ROSE QUARTZ AND HOW IS IT FORMED?

Natural Rose Quartz is a pink translucent macrocrystalline variety of quartz. The mineral quartz is made up of silicon dioxide, and is considered to be one of the most abundant minerals in the world.  Unlike clear quartz, which occurs in defined crystal shapes with well formed faces, rose quartz occurs in irregular crystal shapes with less distinct faces. More specifically, rose quartz forms in translucent solid masses made up of large anhedral occurrences in hydrothermal veins and pegmatites. Pegmatites are extreme igneous rocks that form during the final stage of magma crystallization and are composed of interlocking crystals.  Rose Quartz is commonly found in the quartz cores of pegmatites and is believed to form at high temperatures. Brazil and Madagascar are two locations that are famous for rose quartz found in Pegmatite cores. This is the variety of rose quartz that is used in lapidary and carvings.

THE COLOR OF ROSE QUARTZ

rose quartz, crystals, gem

The pink color of rose quartz ranges from a very light pink to a deeper translucent pink tone, and is caused by trace amounts of titanium, iron, and manganese within the microscopic crystal structure. The color can also come from the presence of tiny microscopic fibrous inclusions of a pink borosilicate mineral related to dumortierite.   These inclusions are usually abundant enough to make the rose quartz translucent instead of transparent. The pink color in rose quartz is considered to be stable up to a temperature of about 575 degrees Celsius, but there have been accounts of some materials fading in daylight.

ASTERISM / STAR ROSE QUARTZ

Rose Quartz is dichroic, meaning it reflects a preferential orientation of fibrous rutile inclusions. The dichroic nature of rose quartz can create “Asterism”, which is a rare quality that rose quartz can display when cut as spheres or cabochons, much like that seen in certain sapphires. Rose quartz with asterism are sometimes referred to as “star rose quartz”. The six rayed star is caused by reflections of the light from embedded fibers of rutile that intersect at an angle of 60 degrees. The star’s position depends both on the location of the light source and the position of the observer.

     ROSE QUARTZ USES

Rose quartz is one of the most commonly encountered lapidary materials.  It is abundant, usually inexpensive, and popular as tumbled stones, carvings, spheres, beads and cabochons. In order to bring out the richness of color, rose quartz stones should be at least a centimeter in diameter to enhance the depth of color, because of the light shade of pink.  Rose quartz is recognized by its color, transparency, hardness, glassy luster, conchoidal fracture, occurrence, and general lack of cleavage.   Measuring 7 on the Mohs scale, rose quartz is considered to be a very durable mineral, and therefore it is difficult to damage. This makes it perfect for lapidary work, as well as display purposes, handling for healing sessions, and general use.

ROSE QUARTZ HEART - A LAPIDARY PROJECT

A favorite lapidary project is making puffed hearts from rose quartz.  They are made by starting with a thick slab of rose quartz and cutting it in the outline of a heart.  It is then domed, like a cabochon, on both sides.  This gives it a three dimensional shape known as a puffed heart.  They are an easy project for lapidary artists with minimal experience and popular as cabochons, pendants, palm stones, and sculptures.

METAPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ROSE QUARTZ

Chakra: Heart

Zodiac: Taurus, Libra

Planet: Venus

Element: Earth, Water

Vibration: Number 7

Courtenay Rose Quartz
Courtenay with Rose Quartz spheres that we sell at our seasonal art fair in Sedona, AZ

Rose Quartz is known ultimately as the love stone, and is considered to be a healer of all matters related to the heart.  Rose Quartz works with the heart Chakra, by balancing and strengthening the physical heart and heart felt emotions.  Calming and reassuring, it helps comfort in times of stress, anxiety, depression, and grief.  Rose quartz can be used to encourage love, self love, friendship, kindness, compassion, and tranquility.  It is a protection stone that dispels negativity and replaces this negativity with a loving vibration.  Rose Quartz teaches us to love ourselves, so we can love others.  It can help with forgiveness and acceptance,and can instill a sense of self worth.  In relationships, Rose Quartz can be used to restore or enhance trust and harmony, by encouraging unconditional love of self and others .

ROSE QUARTZ - THE LOVE STONE

Rose Quartz is a versatile stone, that is not only beautiful but abundant in the world, Rose Quartz is well known and popular on many levels. It is loved, as a decorative stone, for its distinctive and rich pink color. Lapidary artists appreciate it for its ease to cut and polish. Metaphysical practitioners consider it to be an essential and fundamental healing stone to help with heart related matters. Rose Quartz represents love in all forms, It serves as a powerful reminder to always love ourselves, and have empathy and compassion for other people.

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ROSE QUARTZ ON OUR WEBSITE:

WWW.COPPERCANYONLAPIDARY.COM

Here at Copper Canyon Lapidary,  we absolutely love Rose Quartz!  We currently have several Rose Quartz items available for sale on our website! These include large pieces of gorgeous natural Rose Quartz lapidary rough from Madagascar, and parcels of smaller pieces of Rose Quartz that can be used for faceting.  We also have two gift related Rose Quartz items listed on our website!  Check out the beautiful gemstone trees with Rose Quartz tops in three different sizes, and also the gem water bottles that include Rose Quartz as a part of a larger set.  We would love for you to take a look at these fun Rose Quartz items and enjoy our website! www.coppercanyonlapidary.com

4 thoughts on “All About Rose Quartz”

    1. Joel

      Thank you for the compliments. I will pass them along to the author of this post. She will be thrilled. What RSS feed are you trying to enlist in? Are you trying to subscribe to our What’s New List?

  2. Paige

    Hi!! I’m new to crystals and just beginning my spiritual journey. Loved this article, really helped me. Thankyou! 🙂

    1. Joel

      Thank you Paige,
      We really appreciate your positive feedback! We’re happy we could help you learn about rocks and crystals! Best of luck on your spiritual journey!

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