2.5" Smoky Quartz Crystal with Muscovite - Czech Republic

This smoky quartz specimen contains small muscovite crystals along some of the exterior of the quartz crystal. The quartz displays a milky coloration on its outside, with the interior (viewable from bottom of the specimen) clearly containing smoky quartz. This unique specimen was collected from the Czech Republic.

#{muscovite}
Quartz is the name given to silicon dioxide (SiO2) and is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust. Quartz crystals generally grow in silica-rich environments--usually igneous rocks or hydrothermal environments like geothermal waters--at temperatures between 100°C and 450°C, and usually under very high pressure. In either case, crystals will precipitate as temperatures cool, just as ice gradually forms when water freezes. Quartz veins are formed when open fissures are filled with hot water during the closing stages of mountain formation: these veins can be hundreds of millions of years old.

Smoky quartz is a grey-brown to black variety of quartz. This common name is derived from the appearance of smoke within the quartz crystal. Depending on the location and the chemicals present during formation, smoky quartz can appear opaque black, but it is typically translucent to some extent. It is believed that the quartz gains this color from a combination of natural irradiation and aluminum impurities.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Muscovite & Quartz var. Smoky
LOCATION
Křižanov, Žďár nad Sázavou District, Vysočina Region, Moravia, Czech Republic
SIZE
2.5" long, 1.2" wide
CATEGORY
ITEM
#61781