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Rock Crystal
Rock Crystal is a variety of the mineral quartz. It is clear and colourless. The best rock crystal has the clarity and shimmer of water, but this is very rare, particularly in large specimens without inclusions or flaws. Because of its attractive transparency, it is often used in designer jewellery, particularly in carved pieces, as it is easy to cut. It is especially popular in art deco designs, especially combined with the contrasting black of onyx.
It has occasionally been used as imitation diamonds and chandeliers are commonly made of rock crystal. Perhaps its most notorious traditional usage is as the fortune-telling crystal ball, although these are now in fact largely made of glass.
For many people, the patterns and shapes of uncut clusters of rock crystal make this more attractive than refined rock crystal. The tall slim clear prisms of quartz are a particularly attractive mineralogical phenomenon.
Its name is derived from the Greek word krustallos meaning ice, because the Greeks, finding it in caves near Mount Olympus, believed it to be water which had been permanently frozen by the gods.
The finest rock crystal is from the Hot Springs area of Arkansas. It is also sourced in Cumberland, Switzerland, Brazil and Madagascar. Some of the largest individual crystals of quartz have been found in Brazil, weighing over 44 tonnes.
Click here to view Contemporary Designer Jewellery at Astley Clarke
It has occasionally been used as imitation diamonds and chandeliers are commonly made of rock crystal. Perhaps its most notorious traditional usage is as the fortune-telling crystal ball, although these are now in fact largely made of glass.
For many people, the patterns and shapes of uncut clusters of rock crystal make this more attractive than refined rock crystal. The tall slim clear prisms of quartz are a particularly attractive mineralogical phenomenon.
Its name is derived from the Greek word krustallos meaning ice, because the Greeks, finding it in caves near Mount Olympus, believed it to be water which had been permanently frozen by the gods.
The finest rock crystal is from the Hot Springs area of Arkansas. It is also sourced in Cumberland, Switzerland, Brazil and Madagascar. Some of the largest individual crystals of quartz have been found in Brazil, weighing over 44 tonnes.
Click here to view Contemporary Designer Jewellery at Astley Clarke
