Smoky quartz

Smoky quartz

Smoky or smokey quartz is a brown to black variety of quartz.^[1] 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.

Varieties

Morion

A very dark brown to black opaque variety is known as morion. Morion is the German, Danish, Spanish and Polish synonym for smoky quartz.^[2] The name is from a misreading of mormorion in Pliny the Elder.^[3]

Cairngorm

Cairngorm is a variety of smoky quartz crystal found in the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland. It usually has a smokey yellow-brown colour, though some specimens are a grey-brown.

It is used in Scottish jewellery and as a decoration on kilt pins and the handles of sgian dubhs (anglicised: skean dhu). The largest known cairngorm crystal is a 23.6 kg (52 pound) specimen kept at Braemar Castle.

• 

  Morion from Poland

• 

  Another example of smoky quartz

• 

  Smoky quartz found in a stream

See also

• List of minerals

References

1. ^ Smoky Quartz on Mindat
2. ^ http://www.mindat.org/min-6270.html Morion on Mindat
3. ^ New Oxford American Dictionary (2nd ed., 2005), p. 1102.

• Holden, Edward (1925). "The Cause of Color in Smoky Quartz and Amethyst" in American Mineralologist, vol. 9, pp. 203-252

External links

• Mineral Galleries - smoky quartz

This article about a specific mineral or mineraloid is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Quartz varieties Mineral stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Moriolomyces Moripirala Look at other dictionaries: Smoky quartz — Smoky Smok y, a. [Compar. {Smokier}; superl. {Smokiest}.] 1. Emitting smoke, esp. in large quantities or in an offensive manner; fumid; as, smoky fires. [1913 Webster] 2. Having the appearance or nature of smoke; as, a smoky fog. Unlustrous as… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English smoky quartz — n. CAIRNGORM …   English World dictionary smoky quartz — a smoky yellow to dark brown or black variety of quartz, used as a gem. Also called cairngorm, Cairngorm stone. [1830 40] * * * Common, coarse grained variety of quartz that ranges in colour from nearly black through smoky brown. No distinct… …   Universalium smoky quartz — smok′y quartz′ n. mir jew a smoky yellow to dark brown or black variety of quartz, used as a gem • Etymology: 1830–40 …   From formal English to slang smoky quartz — noun a smoky yellow or brown quartz • Syn: ↑cairngorm • Hypernyms: ↑quartz …   Useful english dictionary smoky quartz — noun A brown to black variety of quartz …   Wiktionary smoky quartz — noun a semi precious variety of quartz ranging in colour from light greyish brown to nearly black …   English new terms dictionary smoky quartz — noun Date: 1837 cairngorm …   New Collegiate Dictionary Smoky — Smok y, a. [Compar. {Smokier}; superl. {Smokiest}.] 1. Emitting smoke, esp. in large quantities or in an offensive manner; fumid; as, smoky fires. [1913 Webster] 2. Having the appearance or nature of smoke; as, a smoky fog. Unlustrous as the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English Quartz — Quartz, n. [G. quarz.] (Min.) A form of silica, or silicon dioxide ({SiO2}), occurring in hexagonal crystals, which are commonly colorless and transparent, but sometimes also yellow, brown, purple, green, and of other colors; also in… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”