History and General Information of Rose Quartz Gemstone 

The light pink to rose red variety of macro crystalline, coarse grained, common quartz is referred to as Rose quartz. When impurities of iron, titanium or manganese are present in the natural quartz gem along with microscopic inclusions of dumortierite, it gives rise to this beautiful rose hue that makes the stone a delight to behold. It is favored by people looking for a subdued, yet sparkling stone, to enhance jewelry. It is found as solid mass in large pegmatite cores, or in hydrothermal veins. The slightly reddish tone of the stone finds it being called the “Bohemian Ruby’” although it has none of the characteristics of a ruby.  

The oldest known use of natural rose quartz gemstone has been traced to Mesopotamia in 7000 BC, when it was used as beads.  The Assyrians and Romans too used it, with the Romans creating ownership seals with the stone.  Historically it was valued as a symbol of love and beauty and was often referred to as “stone of gentle love” and also as the “stone of unconditional love.”

Chemical Composition of Rose Quartz

Being a variety of quartz with certain impurities, it is generally represented as SiO2.

Varieties  

Rose quartz gem is one of the variety of the quartz family.

Physical Properties of Rose Quartz

Like all quartz it has a hardness of 7 and a specific gravity of 2.65.  It has no cleavage and shows conchoidal fracture with a white streak.  Its refractive index is 1.544-1.553.  Its crystal system is hexagonal-rhombohedral.  It has a vitreous luster and is opaque to translucent.

Color of rose quartz

As the name suggests, the Rose quartz comes in various shades of pink, starting from the delicately hued baby pink to the more vivid dark pink.  It can also move to an almost purple shade and is generally evenly colored.

Cut

These stones are generally marketed as tumbled stones, since they are too cloudy to be used in making jewelry, while those pieces which are transparent are cut and faceted.  In the cabochon cut, they are used in making pendants, rings, earings and necklaces. The rutiles inclusions with good orientation and polish, is used to produce asterism, the star like effect seen in gemstones. Huge pieces of this gemstone is usually used for carvings.

Clarity

This gemstone has a generally cloudy look, and is never transparent and so clarity is not very exceptional in this stone.

Price of Rose Quartz

Being a commonly available stone, it is not very highly priced, except for stones of exceptional colour and clarity. Even then, the big sized stones can be bought for less than $10 -$ 50 depending upon the carvings, color and size of gem.

Producers

The stones were first found near Rumford, Maine, but nowadays most of the rose quartz is got from the Minas Gerais, Brazil.  It is also found in Australia, Scotland, England, Canada and Mexico, Sweden and Namibia.

Simulants

The artificially produced pink zircon is often passed off as the rose quartz and this is the only known simulant of this stone, although both show totally different chemical and physical properties.

Interesting Trivia and Other Facts of Rose Quartz

Rose quartz is a stone which symbolizes unconditional love since it promotes the emotion of nurturing and friendship.  It has a very calming and soothing effect upon the wearer, bringing about a sense of peace and harmony, not only to one's own self but also in the surroundings. It is a stone which makes a person compassionate and promotes a feeling of forgiveness.  It is a stone of healing and rejuvenation.

It is used in treating people with depression due to its quality of serenity even in the midst of turmoil.  It is said to help in reducing weight and also aids in the rejuvenation of the skin and cells, leading to a glowing complexion, free of wrinkles and lines.  It also protects the wearer against radiation and increases fertility.  It has also been found to be effective in treating people with disorders of the liver, kidney, lungs and heart.