Rose Quartz Tumbled Stone

Rose quartz is the pink variety of quartz. SiO₂. Trigonal. Mohs 7. The pink comes from microscopic mineral fibres dispersed through the quartz - which is why the stone is translucent and cloudy rather than clear, and why strong sunlight can pale it over time.

It forms in the cores of granite pegmatites as large shapeless masses, not as terminated crystals. That is the reason rose quartz is cut and tumbled into beads and palm stones and almost never sold as natural points - there are no natural points to sell.

The pink is the stone’s own, from those dispersed fibres, not a dye. The colour deepens from a pale blush to a full rose depending on the material; the cloudiness travels with it.

Asked often

Is this genuine rose quartz?
Yes - natural pink quartz. The colour comes from microscopic mineral fibres within the stone, not from dye.

Why is it cloudy rather than clear?
Those same fibres scatter the light, so rose quartz reads translucent and soft. Clear rose quartz is the exception, not the rule.

Will the colour fade?
Prolonged strong sunlight can soften the pink over time. Rest it out of direct sun when it is not in the hand.

How do I look after them?
Wipe with a soft cloth. Hard-wearing at Mohs 7; rest them out of prolonged strong sun, which can pale the pink.

1. Carried in a pocket or a bag, or held in the hand.
2. Kept in a small dish, on a desk, or on a shelf - each stone is a little different.
3. Wipe with a soft cloth; rest them out of strong sun, which can soften the pink over time.

Each stone is tumble-polished and unique, so a set varies a little stone to stone. Many keep a stone where they will see it each day, or carry one in a pocket; that is a matter of preference.

Pocket stones to keep and carry. Wipe with a soft cloth and rest them out of prolonged strong sun, which can pale the colour. Hard-wearing at Mohs 7.

• Stone: Rose Quartz · pink quartz
• Hardness: Mohs 7
• Character: Pale blush to deep rose · clouded
• Treatment: None · natural pink (not dyed)
• Form: Tumbled stones · polished, each unique · sold in a set
• Origin: Brazil
• Care: Wipe with a soft cloth · rest out of strong sun

Quartz is among the most-worked minerals in human history, and rose-quartz beads are documented from Mesopotamia in the early Neolithic; the stone was cut by Assyrian and Roman hands. Across many cultures, and for as long as it has been worn, rose quartz has been the stone people associate with affection, tenderness, and reconciliation.

It has long been given as a token between people - named here as observation, not instruction. The cloud in the stone and the way the colour softens in strong light are part of its character; what it comes to mean to the person who holds it, or the person it is given to, is theirs to decide.