Gemstone Family - Quartz

Mohs' scale - 7 (The Mohs' scale 1 to 10 indicates a gem's scratch hardness, with 10 Mohs the hardest)

Colours - Occurs in a range of brown and black hues

Quartz is the biggest gemstone species of all and one of the most widely used in modern jewellery making. Smoky quartz, an extremely versatile stone which is part of the ‘Brown Quartz’ family, can appear in a range of soft, subtle colours including gentle yellowish brown, rich chocolate, dark charcoal-brown and nearly black. Smoky quartz is a crystalline quartz, as it consists of relatively large crystals that are usually visible to the unaided eye. Main sources of the stone include Africa, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Myanmar and Spain. Smoky quartz from the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland is called cairngorm. A very attractive stone, smoky quartz can produce optical effects such as cats-eyes and stars.

A few interesting facts about Smoky Quartz

Smoky quartz has a long history – beads of quartz have been found in caves in Israel that were occupied between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago. Many different types of quartz has been honoured through the ages and worn as an amulet to protect against bad luck and poor health.

Quartz crystals weighing as much as 300kg have been found in Brazil.