All About Smoky Quartz: Types, Colors, Description, Origins & Details
A lover of earthy colors? If yes, we bet the fashion appeal of smoky quartz is something you won’t be able to resist. Doesn’t brown-grey color hue of smoky quartz allure you in the most unique ways?
Dark, dramatic and dazzling! That’s smoky quartz for you! Brown has been such a classic color that is loved by all after all! And that’s exactly what makes us so curious to explore this beautiful June birthstone. Wondering how to buy Smoky quartz jewelry? How to judge this brown beauty better? Also, how exactly did it even come into picture? No worries there! Here we are with our Smoky Quartz education guide to address all the basic knowledge revolving around Smoky Quartz right from the history and beliefs to the famous 4 C’s and properties to help you make a much more informed decision while buying this semi-precious gemstone.
Properties of Smoky Quartz
Hardness
Having a hardness rating of 7 out of 10 on Moh’s scale, Smoky quartz is known to be pretty durable and can be worn on a regular basis with proper care.
Composition
Here we arrive to some smoky quartz education surrounding its formation or shall we say, what all composes its formation. Belonging to the silicate family of minerals, this brown gemstone gets its USP: the earthy brown color, thanks to the presence of aluminum impurities in radioactive elements. Apart from that, it is found in the hexagonal form of crystal in its natural state.
Luster
What makes it all the more alluring! Having a vitreous, i.e., glass like luster, Smoky quartz ranges from being completely transparent to translucent.
Origin & History
How exactly did this beautiful brown quartz come into picture? What is the story behind its emergence? Don’t you just want to know it all? What is our smoky quartz guide here for? While smoky quartz is abundantly found in a number of countries, it has a rich history and beliefs dating way back ever since it was known to be a sacred stone of power for Druids. In fact, in around 12th century, thanks to the dark brown color hues of this semi-precious gemstone, Chinese used it in the form of sunglasses just like the modern day shades. Since it is equally advanced in fashion as well, how can we fail to mention how crazy the ancient European era was after this brown beauty. So much so that they used it to embed their crucifixes that they interestingly, believed to protect them from evil. Other than that, it was also popular for making Chinese sniff bottles as well as intaglio seals by Chinese and not just that, such has been the importance of smoky quartz since time immemorial that the first writing piece has been believed to be imbibed upon this semi-precious gemstone.
Where is Smoky Quartz found?
Wondering where exactly is it mined today? Let’s give you a glance with our smoky quartz education guide. Well, first things first, Smoky quartz is hailed as the national gemstone of Scotland where interestingly, it is known as cairngrom, inspired from the name of the mountains it’s mined from. Apart from that, Brazil is currently the leading producer of this brown beauty, followed by Madagascar, New hamsphire, russia and Ukraine. Talking about its specific formation, Smoky Quartz is most commonly mined in igneous as well as metamorphic rocks in the presence of magma under intense temperatures. As soon as the magma begins to cool, the presence of silicon dioxide gives birth to quartz crystals. It gets its rich brown color, all thanks to the presence of radioactive elements in the rocks.
Natural Smoky Quartz versus Lab Created Smoky Quartz
Natural Smoky Quartz
A smoky quartz in its natural state, is created under earth’s crust in igneous or sedimentary rocks under uncontrolled, intense temperatures. Apart from that, since it carries a combination of minerals during the crystallization process that give rise to the formation of this gemstone, it tends to have slight inclusions as well.
Lab Created Smoky Quartz
The lab grown method is more quicker and takes places by recreating the similar environment, just in a much more controlled manner. Since it is already heat treated, a lab created smoky quartz tends to possess lesser inclusions as well.
Smoky Quartz Quality and Price Filters
Wondering how to buy smoky quartz jewelry? What all factors to keep in mind? Since quality is the foremost thing we consider, this part becomes the the most important. Before we jump to it, you must know what exactly determines the quality of this June birthstone. The prominent 4 Cs, individually and together, decide the quality of this beautiful quartz stone. Let’s take a look with our smoky quartz buying guide:
Color
Smoky Quartz, like other colored gemstones comes with a palette of different smoky brown color saturation with a hint of yellow, gray and deep brown. The beautiful earthy tones are an important factor to consider while buying a smoky quartz. The natural irradiation process along with the presence of aluminum impurities is what gives it its intense brown color.
Clarity
The Smoky Quartz is basically a colored quartz with a brown luster. Mostly, inclusions in Smoky Quartz are not visible to the naked eye making them eye-clean. However, color zoning can decrease the value as in most cases a uniform hue is desirable in this brown gemstone. Its clarity ranges from transparent to opaque along with a vitreous luster, making it such a desirable pick.
Carat
The weight of Smoky Quartz is measured in terms of Carat Weight usually shortened to Carat or Cts and is determined by the size of this gemstone which is interestingly quite large in its natural form. Prices of Smoky Quartz do not exponentially increase with the rise in carat weight, making them an affordable choice for jewelry with big gems.
Cut
Smoky Quartz, fall into the category of quartz and therefore are available in large sizes facilitating for the cutter to offer any desired shape without much difficulty. Round and oval are the most common cuts for Smoky Quartz since these cuts enhance the color by maximizing dispersion. Other cuts can include, trillion, cushion, pear, asscher and heart. However, Smoky Quartz found with inclusions are best suited for making beads or cabochons.
Smoky Quartz Grading Value
Haven’t had enough of this beauty in brown? Want to explore it even further? Well, you should. This brown variety of quartz deserves all the hype and the more you know your gemstone, the better. That being said, let’s give you a glance at some other factors surrounding this June birthstone:
Polish
Smoky Quartz polish is how well the facets are polished and how smooth and even the surfaces are. If there is roughness, unevenness or remnants of the rough Smoky Quartz, the Smoky Quartz gets a lower quality. Polish is another advanced C that feeds directly into the cut grade of the Smoky Quartz. Generally Smoky Quartz that have an excellent cut grade will also have an excellent polish grade.
Culet
The culet is the bottom portion of the Smoky Quartz which needs to be in the correct proportion of the Smoky Quartz based on its shape. The culet of the Smoky Quartz determines the passage of the light through it and ultimately the sparkle of the gemstone. If the culet is not in the correct proportion, there is light leakage and this can detract from the sparkle of the Smoky Quartz.
Measurements
The measurements of the Smoky Quartz determines once again how well it sparkles and how well the facets can show off the color and clarity of the Smoky Quartz. A well proportioned Smoky Quartz of the same size, may look better than the one that is larger but has less than ideal measurements. The proportions of the Smoky Quartz can also make the gemstone look larger face up and maximize its beauty.
Benefits of Smoky Quartz
Ever since its discovery, this beautiful brown quartz has fondly been attached with some astrological beliefs. Be it china, rome or europe, all the big nations have gone gaga over the wholesome healing properties of this semi-precious gemstone. On that note, let’s help you get well versed with the wholesome benefits that this June birthstone blesses the wearer with:
Physical Healing
Did you know mental and physical health are somewhat connected with one another? Since it brings such stability to the life of the wearer, it also reflects on the physical body, helping you heal from painful headaches and helps with detoxification in body. Apart from that, it also helps the wearer stay away from harmful electromagnetic radiations, heals digestive problems and spinal issues.
Emotional Healing
Having ties with root chakra, Smoky quartz has been long been hailed as a grounding stone. That’s because it brings great emotional stability to the life of the wearer, helps you combat depression and all in all, blesses you with immense mental peace. It helps you heal from emotional trauma and baggage and keeps you away from all kinds of negative thoughts.
Other Benefits
Having ties with the famous goddess gaia, the greek earth mother, smoky quartz is known to align you with the divine powers of earth and higher realms. It helps you embark on a whole together new spiritual journey of life like you’ve been born again. It also gives you a sense of confidence and brings enhanced clarity of mind when lost.
FAQs
How is a Smoky Quartz made?
The mineral, quartz is formed in igneous rocks with geothermal waters. When the magma cools down, it leads to crystallization of silicon dioxide. The smoky brown shade is achieved when the rocks contain radioactive elements.
Is Smoky Quartz grown in lab?
No, Smoky Quartz are found in abundance in nature hence they are not usually created in labs as of now.
Where do Smoky Quartz come from?
Brazil occupies the position of the leading source of Smoky Quartz in the world. After Brazil, the other notable suppliers include Madagascar, Scotland, Russia, Ukraine, Switzerland.
How to take care of Smoky Quartz Jewelry?
Smoky Quartz Jewelry is quite easy to clean due to their hardness and durability. However, a few things must be kept in mind like avoiding contact of the gemstone with make-up, harsh chemicals, abrasives.
While cleaning the jewelry make use of lukewarm water and mild cleaning detergent. Soft toothbrush can be used to clean the underside of the Smoky Quartz.
Also, the jewelry must be individually kept to avoid contact with other jewelry to avoid unnecessary scratches.
What is a Smoky Quartz certification?
The most common Smoky Quartz Certifications includes from GIA, IGL and HRD labs. It is usually a document you receive on the behalf of the aforementioned 3rd party labs which describes an Smoky Quartz in all of its characteristics.
Each and every party’s defining grounds may defer.
Can you put quartz in sun?
You absolutely can! Just make sure you’re not exposing it to sunlight for long periods of time. Discoloration from direct exposure to sunlight is actually quite rare in a quartz crystal, specially if it’s not for prolonged period . But being a little careful wouldn’t hurt anybody.
How can you tell if smoky quartz is real?
One distinctive property of a quartz crystal that it reflects different colors when seen from different angles in light. Also, a naturally formed smoky quartz crystal is known to be more even in color thanks to the natural irradiation process. It does possess some air bubbles on the surface as well.
What is the birthstone of smoky quartz?
Smoky quartz blesses the month of June with its grace, thus making it extra lucky for all the June babies out there.
Smoky quartz, the semi-precious gemstone of the month of June, has doubtlessly become a favorite of us all. Bold, dramatic and classy: that’s how we’d label this brown beauty. The earthy tones of this gemstone deserve all the appreciation. Since we’re such an admirer of its beauty, wouldn’t it be fun to explore this brown crystal even more? To facilitate you with just that, here we are with our smoky quartz education guide covering everything right from the history and beliefs to the properties and the famous 4 Cs of this gemstone. We’re sure you’d be able to make a much better decision when buying this brown beauty since you’re much more informed. We also hope you had a lot of fun having this discussion with us and we kept you glued right till the end. Having said that, here we sign off wishing you all the luck in selecting your favorite smoky quartz jewelry.
