Quartz Crystals for Dummies

Quartz crystal with striations

We try to be perfectly honest with you here at the Antisocial Network (something we generally doubt is true of our DotD candidates). That's why we are a bit nonplussed about the topic of the article we're featuring today. When someone asks, "How to Tell If Quartz Crystals Are Real," we start snickering: is that supposed to be an existential question, such as "I see quartz, therefore I am"? Or does someone out there really think that there's a market for fake quartz crystals? Well, we were surprised (not) to find that in the crystal mumbo-jumbo market, there may actually be scammers who create "crystals" out of glass or even plastic. So perhaps someone, somewhere is even now looking at OurPastimes.com, where Dina Staggs tried to explain the differentiation process...

Of course, Dina had to start out with nearly 300 words attempting to describe quartz, including the nonsense line,

"Many experienced rock collectors can tell if a crystal is real quartz through careful examination. They examine the crystal for small naturally accruing [sic] abnormalities (man-made crystals are usually flawless, without abnormalities)."

We don't know how abnormalities accrue to a crystal, do you? Be that as it may, Staggs has just the one suggestion for distinguishing quartz from a fake crystal that, she assumes, must be glass:

"Quartz has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, meaning that it will easily scratch glass, metals and softer stones. This test will not harm the crystal if it is real quartz because glass has a hardness of 5.5 to 6.5."

Props to Dina for not calling it "Moh's" hardness test! Staggs then goes on to tell her readers to,

"Press the point of the crystal firmly against the surface of the glass. Add a small amount of pressure as you drag the crystal across the surface... Examine the surface of the glass carefully; the scratch will be faintly visible. If no scratch is visible, repeat the test adding more pressure as you drag the crystal..."

Sure, that'll work, although it's not really necessary to press the point of a crystal against the glass, any spot will work. Of course, your crystal will also scratch glass if it's any mineral harder than about 6 on the Mohs scale¹, so you haven't really determined whether the crystal is real(ly quartz). So, let's see what other tests Dina says to perform...

[ --- This Space Intentionally Left Blank --- ]

Yup: no physical inspection for hexagonal prismatic shape, nothing about striations, nothing about conchoidal fracture, nothing about a white streak, nothing about specific gravity... just, "How hard is it"? If you think quartz has magical properties, then you probably don't care about its physical properties, anyway... just like our Dumbass of the Day.

¹ That includes corundum (ruby and sapphire), rutile, chrysoberyl, topaz, zircon, tourmaline, and garnet, among other minerals... oh, yeah: and diamond.

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