How to identify Aura Quartz

To correctly identify Aura Quartz (Quartz (SiO2) with metallic coating), check each of these features in order. Many rocks and minerals look alike, so cross-reference multiple properties before deciding.

Step-by-step identification

1. 1

   Color

   Overall color and any zoning or banding

   Highly variable, depending on the metallic coating. Common colors include iridescent blue (Aqua Aura), iridescent rainbow (Titanium Aura), iridescent pink/purple (Rose Aura), and iridescent clear/white (Angel Aura). The color is a surface phenomenon.

2. 2

   Luster

   How the surface reflects light: metallic, vitreous, dull

   Strongly metallic to sub-metallic, often with a distinct iridescent or rainbow-like sheen, unlike the vitreous luster of natural quartz.

3. 3

   Texture

   Grain size and surface feel: coarse, fine, glassy

   Smooth, glassy surface, identical to the underlying quartz, but with a thin, sometimes slightly uneven, metallic coating. The coating can sometimes show microscopic imperfections or variations in thickness.

4. 4

   Crystal Form

   Shape of visible crystals or crystal faces

   Retains the crystal habit of the original quartz, typically hexagonal prisms terminated by rhombohedra. Can be found as single crystals, clusters, or points.

5. 5

   Cleavage

   How it breaks: flat cleavage planes vs irregular fracture

   None, same as natural quartz. Exhibits conchoidal fracture.

6. 6

   Geological Environment

   The rock formation and setting where it occurs

   Not found in geological environments. It is an artificially created material produced in specialized laboratories or industrial facilities.

Key Facts

Hardness

7 on the Mohs scale (of the underlying quartz). The coating itself is very thin and can be scratched, though it is generally durable.

Specific Gravity

2.65 g/cm³ (of the underlying quartz). The thin metallic coating has a negligible effect on the overall specific gravity.

Crystal System

Trigonal (of the underlying quartz).

Color

Artificially induced iridescent colors (e.g., blue, rainbow, pink, clear with rainbow sheen).

Luster

Metallic to sub-metallic, iridescent.

Transparency

Transparent to translucent (of the underlying quartz), with the metallic coating creating an opaque or semi-opaque iridescent layer.

Fracture

Conchoidal (of the underlying quartz).

Cleavage

None (of the underlying quartz).

Composition

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) with a thin, molecularly bonded coating of various metals (e.g., gold, platinum, titanium, silver).

Physical characteristics

• Crystal Habit: Typically prismatic, often terminated by rhombohedra, reflecting the original quartz crystal habit.
• Cleavage Type: None.
• Fracture Type: Conchoidal.
• Tenacity: Brittle (of the underlying quartz).
• Luster Type: Metallic to sub-metallic, iridescent.

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