Rose Quartz

Pink, usually cloudy quartz that almost always forms as massive chunks rather than crystals. The color comes from microscopic fibrous inclusions.

Rose Quartz specimen — Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify rose quartz

Soft pink and translucent-to-cloudy.
Hardness 7 — scratches glass.
Usually massive, with no crystal faces.
No banding.

Often confused with

Rhodochrosite
Rhodochrosite is softer, often banded in rose and white, and much denser.
Compare side by side

Where it's found

Black Hills, South Dakota
Minas Gerais, Brazil
Madagascar

Uses

Carvings, beads and tumbled stones.

Rock tumbling

Great for tumbling.

Did you know?

Rose quartz is the official state mineral of South Dakota.

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