Description
SMOKY QUARTZ SPHERE
This is the polished smoky quartz sphere. Diameter 2.8″ (70mm). Weight – 16.8oz (475 grams). Origin: Russia, Transbaikalia.
Some information about smoky quartz:
Smoky quartz is a grey, translucent variety of quartz that ranges in clarity from almost complete transparency to an almost-opaque brownish-gray or black crystal. Like other quartz gems, it is a silicon dioxide crystal. The smoky colour results from free silicon formed from the silicon dioxide by natural irradiation.
A very dark brown to black opaque variety known as morion. Morion is the German, Danish, Spanish and Polish synonym for smoky quartz. Cairngorm is a variety of smoky quartz crystal found in the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland. It usually has a smoky yellow-brown colour, though some specimens are greyish-brown.
Smoky quartz is common and was not historically important, but in recent times it has become a popular gemstone, especially for jewellery. Sunglasses, in the form of flat panes of smoky quartz, used in China in the 12th century.
