I bought a cheap piece of Rose Quartz from a New Age store for myself recently. It was barely a pale pink when I bought. When I brought it home it was basically clear at that point. I was disappointed and figured that maybe it was just the light or a piece of regular quartz, Moved it in and out of the light a million times but it stayed completely clear no matter what I did. Later that day I looked at it again in the same place, same lighting and it was very pink, a light pink but very pink nonetheless. Once again moved it in and out of the lighting. Its done this many times since I've bought it. Currently its clear with just barely a touch of pink. But no matter what I try I cannot figure this out. It IS NOT the lighting I promise that, nor is it the room I'm in (stuff behind it seeing though), I've covered that base as well. Any other ideas? Or can Rose Quartz change colors?Thanks y'all!
Actually, it's blue sapphire, which is the 2nd strongest mineral found in Earth's deposits, after the network solid form of Carbon.
Quartz usually has some straight edges to it because it's a crystal. While I can't say definitively that what is in those photographs is not quartz, the lack of straight edges makes me think that it probably isn't quartz. .
This looks like a it from a mineral group called Mica in some forms it was called fouls gold prompting the saying All that glitters is not gold Go to a rock shop they are lots of fun My family has been mining in California starting in 1849 and still going strong good luck--
Did you lick it yet? I wonder if it is a grain of deicing salt (you can guess from that I am from a snowy area). But that would scratch with a nail, so probably not. Also doesn't have any obvious cleavage or crystal structure, which would normally be apparent with a salt, but one can imagine some sort of structure (eroded structure or surface regularity), and sometimes salt can look like your stuff. The mica idea is probably based on the little flakes that appear in one photo, but there is absolutely no way that is a mica. it is probably either a piece of glass or a bit of quartz. But lick it anyway.
Looks too clear for quartz. Also the fracture looks wrong. I doest have a Vitreous/ sub adamantine look about it. Could maybe be a topaz, not sure. HennryG you've done it again. By the very definition it cannot be mica. Mica is opaque/translucent, thin flakey crystals e.g. Muscovite and biotite. This is clearly not the case. Its not a sapphire. For a start its too large. A specimen that size would be worth hundreds of thousand dollars. It is too light and has the wrong shape. As thsutleo :) puts it Sapphire is the 2nd hardest mineral (mohs9+) and would there fore still posess some of its original habit. Glass will have a greenish/blue tinge along the fracture edges and a concoidal fracture. I don't see this here
