FROSTY WHITE ROUGH NUGGET NECKLACE. This will come to you around 17.5 inches with adjustable chain and large decorative s clasp for easy closure. I can change length for you free of charge, as this is made to order. ALSO AVAILABLE IN AQUA. ABOUT QUARTZ: Quartz is the most common mineral in the continental crust, and the one with the simplest chemical formula: silicon dioxide or SiO2. Quartz is so common in crustal rocks that it’s more notable when quartz is missing than when it’s present. Quartz is an old German word that originally meant something like hard or tough. The pretty crystals and vivid colors you’ll see in jewelry and in rock shops are scarce. Here are some of those precious varieties. Clear, colorless quartz is called rock crystal. Milky pink quartz is called rose quartz. Its color is thought to be due to various impurities (titanium, iron, manganese) or microscopic inclusions of other minerals. Yellow quartz is called citrine. Its color is due to iron impurities. Green quartz is called prasiolite. Iron impurities account for its color, too. Gray quartz is called smoky quartz. Its color is due to “holes” of missing electrons in combination with aluminum impurities. Brown smoky quartz is called cairngorm and black smoky quartz is called morion. Where Quartz Is Found. Quartz is perhaps the most typical mineral of the planet Earth. In fact, one test of a meteorite, if you think you’ve found one, is to be sure it doesn’t have any quartz. But more than that, quartz is typical of the continents. Geologic processes have concentrated it there. Among the common minerals, quartz is the toughest and most inert. It makes up the backbone of good soil, providing mechanical strength and holding open pore space between its grains. Its superior hardness and resistance to dissolution are what make sandstone and granite endure. Thus you could say that quartz holds up the mountains.
