Specifications
Descrizione
Locality: Baia Mare mining district, Maramureș County, Romania
Smoky quartz gets its colour from aluminium. In all smoky quartz a little aluminium takes the place of silicon, but the colour only appears once the crystal has been irradiated. Natural radiation over geological time removes an electron from an oxygen atom next to an aluminium ion, creating a colour centre that absorbs light and gives the typical smoky brown. With enough aluminium and intense radiation the quartz turns completely black, the variety called morion, and heating removes the colour.
The Baia Mare district lies in the Gutâi Mountains of northern Romania, part of the volcanic arc on the inner side of the Carpathians. Volcanic activity built these mountains between about 15.4 and 7 million years ago, and the hydrothermal fluids linked to it left hundreds of gold-silver and lead-zinc veins. The Main Vein of the Baia Sprie mine, 8 km long, is the longest ore vein in Europe.
Mining around Baia Mare is documented with certainty from the 13th and 14th centuries, and the late 15th century brought a first boom in gold and silver mining. More than 20 mines were still working the district's veins until 2007, and two of its deposits, Cavnic and Baia Sprie, are classed as world-class.
This one of a kind Smokey Quartz specimen from Romania features a broad plate-like matrix covered in hundreds of small to medium smoky-brown Quartz crystals. The surface has a dense, druzy cluster formation, with many crystals showing triangular terminations and hollow-looking recessed tips that create a distinctive textured pattern across the face. The crystals range from translucent gray-brown to deeper smoky tones, with scattered reflective faces and natural tan-gray coating adding an earthy, weathered character. The underside shows a rough, iron-stained matrix, giving the piece a strong natural contrast between the crystallized display face and its raw geological base.
Smokey Quartz is a dark variety of Quartz, colored by natural radiation interacting with trace aluminum within the crystal structure over long periods of time. Quartz has been used and admired since ancient times for tools, ornamentation, carving, jewelry, and later for scientific and industrial purposes due to its durability and piezoelectric properties. Romanian Smokey Quartz is often associated with historic Carpathian mining regions, especially areas known for hydrothermal veins, sulfide mineralization, and complex Quartz-bearing deposits.
In crystal traditions, smoky quartz is associated with grounding, protection and calm focus.
Chemical Composition: SiO2
Quantity: 1pc
With this product, you will get the actual stone in the photograph.