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quartz - the granddaddy of crystals
One of the most abundant minerals in the earth's crust (12% by volume), quartz is present in nearly every geological environment.
Silicon, quartz's main component, is the second most common element on earth after oxygen.
Quartz is the chameleon of gemstones, having often stood in for more expensive gemstones, from diamonds to jade, through history.
The term cryptocrystalline means the crystals are too small to be seen even by a microscope.
A collector could easily have hundreds of quartz specimens and not have two that are the same due to the many broad categories.
 variety is the spice of life...
Quartz is a component of almost every rock type and frequently, it's the primary mineral.

quartz sphere
photo: moonlight mysteries

It is also the most diverse in terms of varieties, colors and forms, due to its abundance and widespread distribution.
Some of quartz's varieties include:
  • amethyst, a purple gemstone variety
  • citrine, a yellow to orange gemstone variety, rare in nature but often created by heating amethyst
  • milky quartz, a cloudy white variety
  • rock crystal, a clear variety that is also used as a gemstone, often mimicking a diamond (also a significant tool in metaphysical healing tradition)
  • rose quartz, a pink to reddish pink variety
  • smoky quartz, a brown to gray variety
  • tourmalinated quartz, a clear to cloudy quartz with inclusions of schorl
Quartz also includes cryptocrystalline varieties that are also used either as semi-precious stones or for ornamental purposes.
These varieties are divided more by character than by color and include chalcedony (agates), chrysoprase (a pure green agate), sard (a yellow to brown agate), sardonyx (banded sard), onyx (black and white agate), carnelian (a yellow to orange agate), flint (a colorful and microscopically fibrous form), jasper (a colorful impure agate) and bloodstone (a green with red speckled agate).

symbolic attributes

geographic
state gem Georgia
state mineral Arkansas
metaphysical
astrological gem all signs
planetary stone Mercury
element fire, air