How to identify Red Quartz

To correctly identify Red Quartz (Quartz (variety: Hematoid Quartz)), 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

   Ranges from pale pinkish-red to deep brick red, orange-red, or reddish-brown. The color is due to iron oxide inclusions, often appearing as specks, clouds, or distinct phantoms within the transparent to translucent quartz.

2. 2

   Luster

   How the surface reflects light: metallic, vitreous, dull

   Vitreous (glassy) on crystal faces and fracture surfaces.

3. 3

   Texture

   Grain size and surface feel: coarse, fine, glassy

   Smooth to slightly granular, depending on the crystal habit and presence of inclusions. Often exhibits a conchoidal fracture.

4. 4

   Crystal Form

   Shape of visible crystals or crystal faces

   Typically forms hexagonal prisms terminated by hexagonal pyramids. Can also be massive, granular, or drusy. Inclusions often highlight growth zones.

5. 5

   Cleavage

   How it breaks: flat cleavage planes vs irregular fracture

   None. Quartz lacks cleavage.

6. 6

   Geological Environment

   The rock formation and setting where it occurs

   Found in hydrothermal veins, pegmatites, and metamorphic rocks. It forms in environments where silica-rich fluids are present alongside iron-bearing minerals, allowing for the co-precipitation or inclusion of iron oxides during quartz crystallization.

Key Facts

Hardness

7 on the Mohs scale

Specific Gravity

2.65 g/cm³ (for pure quartz; inclusions may slightly alter this)

Crystal System

Trigonal

Color

Red, orange-red, reddish-brown (due to hematite/goethite inclusions)

Luster

Vitreous

Transparency

Transparent to translucent, opaque if inclusions are dense

Fracture

Conchoidal

Cleavage

None

Composition

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) with iron oxide (Fe2O3, FeO(OH)) inclusions

Physical characteristics

• Crystal Habit: Prismatic, often terminated by rhombohedral faces; also massive, granular, cryptocrystalline.
• Cleavage Type: Absent
• Fracture Type: Conchoidal
• Tenacity: Brittle
• Luster Type: Vitreous

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