Red Quartz

Item Description

This material carries several varietal names including Ferruginous Quartz, Red Quartz, "Hematoid" Quartz / Hematite Quartz, Eisenkiesel, and I'm sure there are more. It's essentially Quartz that has been colored completely or nearly completely red by inclusions of iron oxide, most likely Hematite or Goethite. The locality around Tinejdad has recently produced some superb examples of the material with robust crystals, larger size display specimens and that beautiful stark red color. The habit consists of steep pyramidal terminations with virtually no prism faces present, and the crystals are typically tighly intergrown, but still show good definition between individuals. I'm told that the specimens are found in semi-spherical vugs, almost like geodes, broken open, and then small specimens are extracted. Unlike "strawberry" Quartz or other reddish varieties where small bits of red inclusions can be seen, or even just a coating of iron oxide on white Quartz, these crystals are RED THROUGHOUT! On this specimens they are so heavinly included, that they honestly do not pass light. The base of some of the crystals on the piece show slight translucent areas where a smoky hue can be seen, the vast majority of the crystals are a beautiful brick red hue. To top it off, the luster is surprisingly good and the piece is not dull or matte on the surface. What really sets these pieces apart are the fact that they are notably well-preserved, and with the exception of the periphery and only a small amount of nicks, the piece is nearly damage free. The largest crystal measures about 1.5 cm, but it's hard to measure an individual crystal, so this is an approximation. ATTENTION QUARTZ COLLECTORS: If you don't have one of these in your collection, don't miss out. They are beautiful display specimens with a pleasing color, and pieces like this one were few and far between from what we were able to select. If you collect Moroccan minerals, you have to have one of these in your collection.