I bought a smoky quartz sphere, but for some reason it feels different from my other quartz crystals. How can I tell if this is real natural quartz vs glass or lab created quartz?
Amethyst is not a type of quartz, it is quartz. However pure quartz is Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) and has a clear crystal. However these are not as common as one would expect in the natural world, most minerals contain impurities of other elements trapped into their mineral lattices. It is these impurities which alter the colour and sometimes structure of the mineral. Common quartz is often milky or white due to impurities and not necessarily aesthetically pleasing. Whereas a clear purple quartz (with impure K,Potassium) does look good and therefore is used for gems. Furthermore, in order to make a gemstone, the pre-cut stone needs to be big enough to allow it to be cut in to smaller immaculate pieces which refract light perfectly, producing the lustre. Quartz is a common rock in silicic igneous rocks, however these rarely form large enough crystals. This combined with the colours limits the potential of a common mineral to being of gem quality. Amethyst is just another term for gem quality quartz.
quartz is a mineral with many varieties Some of the varieties are not used for gemstones , while others are
