Scottish quartz is a popular seller here at our online crystal shop.
When you buy Scottish quartz from the Stone Circle, you will receive an all-natural piece of quartz that we found out in the wilds of Scotland, cleaned up, and shipped to you. That’s about as ethically sourced as you can get.
While quartz is a popular seller, we find and deliver it in different forms. We come across solid quartz and quartzite in rivers and in the hills. We find quartz drusy pieces, similar to that of the inside of a geode. We find quartz geodes, and even chunks of Highland quartz of unrivalled beauty. When it comes to quartz, Scotland really does have it all.
What is Quartz Crystal?
Quartz crystals are formed under intense pressure down in the earth’s crust. It forms in igneous rocks as the magma cools down. Quartz is made from a mineral compound called silicon dioxide, which is the same stuff they use in food to stop clumping. It’s used to make everything from cement to glass. Quartz can also be formed by the hardening over time of silica-rich water.
Quartz has a hardness of seven on the Mohs hardness scale. This puts it up at the top, above stainless steel, larimar, calcite, and fluorite. It is Piezoelectric, which means it gives off an electric charge when mechanically pressurised. In crystal healing, it is used to amplify the strength of other crystals because of this effect.
Where do you find Quartz Crystals?
Quartz is an abundant mineral, which just means you find it all over the place. When gem collectors favour it, it’s because it has a particularly proficient level of clarity, because it has excellent points or structure, or because it is undamaged. The main countries where the quartz crystals you buy in crystal stores come from, include:
Brazil
Mexico
South Africa
Australia
Russia
The USA
China
And several other countries around the globe.
How long does it take for quartz to form?
Depending on the pressure, abundance of silicon, and other factors, quartz can grow quickly by comparison to other minerals. Some sources say that small quartz crystals form in minutes, while larger crystals take many months. We found this study in which all quartz tested was under 10,000 years old.
Quartz crystals of massive size and distinction can take hundreds of thousands of years to grow. OR they could take less than 10,000 years. None of us have ever lived long enough to document it accurately.
Why do we say, “It’s All Just Quartz”?
Here at TSC, we like to joke that all the samples we collect are just different types of quartz in the end. Scottish Amethyst is quartz with manganese and iron staining, Scottish agates come with quartz pockets, Chalcedony is just a version of quartz, as is Jasper… the only thing we collect that doesn’t have a quartz base, are our basalt hagstones, pink pectolite, and our calcite samples.
So when we say it’s all just quartz, what we mean is that these are varying stages of quartz, shaped by heat and pressure over differing time periods, and in different host minerals, but it is all related. Hope that makes sense.
Drusy or Crystal Clusters?
A quartz drusy is like a blanket of glittering quartz. You get them in amethyst, particularly in Scottish and Brazilian amethysts. We find most of our drusy in the Dumfries and Galloway region. The only thing that separates a quartz drusy from a quartz crystal cluster, is the size of the crystals. If they are small and sparkling, it’s a drusy. If they are larger and pronounced, it’s a cluster. Most of the drusy we sell has pronounced crystals too small to be a real cluster.
What’s Cairngorm Quartz?
Cairngorm Quartz crystals are our favourite. They are native to Scotland. They are found in the Cairngorm mountain range. The crystals are Smokey grey, white, cloudy, clear, and black. They also come in Smokey citrine variety, rarely. Some of it is rutilated with a red glassy rutile. These pieces are incredibly rare.
Where to buy Scottish Smoky Quartz?
You can buy Scottish smoky quartz online through the Stone Circle. We sell it rough by the 500 grams, but we list the occasional spectacular piece separately. All the more reason to bookmark our page.