How to identify Aqua Aura Quartz

To correctly identify Aqua Aura Quartz (SiO2 with gold 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

   Vibrant, iridescent blue, often with rainbow flashes. The color is superficial and does not penetrate the crystal.

2. 2

   Luster

   How the surface reflects light: metallic, vitreous, dull

   Metallic to sub-metallic, vitreous on untreated surfaces.

3. 3

   Texture

   Grain size and surface feel: coarse, fine, glassy

   Smooth, often with visible crystal faces. The coating can sometimes appear slightly uneven or textured under magnification.

4. 4

   Crystal Form

   Shape of visible crystals or crystal faces

   Retains the hexagonal prismatic crystal habit of the underlying quartz, often with pyramidal terminations.

5. 5

   Cleavage

   How it breaks: flat cleavage planes vs irregular fracture

   None (conchoidal fracture characteristic of quartz).

6. 6

   Geological Environment

   The rock formation and setting where it occurs

   Not found in a natural geological environment. It is a product of laboratory treatment.

Key Facts

Hardness

7 on the Mohs scale (of the underlying quartz)

Specific Gravity

2.65 g/cm³ (of the underlying quartz, the coating is negligible in mass)

Crystal System

Trigonal (of the underlying quartz)

Color

Vibrant iridescent blue

Luster

Metallic to sub-metallic on coated surfaces, vitreous on uncoated quartz

Transparency

Transparent to translucent (of the underlying quartz)

Fracture

Conchoidal (of the underlying quartz)

Cleavage

None

Composition

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) with a surface coating of elemental gold (Au)

Physical characteristics

• Crystal Habit: Hexagonal prisms terminated by rhombohedra (of the underlying quartz)
• Cleavage Type: Absent
• Fracture Type: Conchoidal
• Tenacity: Brittle
• Luster Type: Metallic to sub-metallic on coated surfaces; vitreous on uncoated quartz

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