Specifications
Description
Locality: Baia Mare mining district, Maramureș County, Romania
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.
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.
This one of a kind Calcite on Smokey Quartz specimen from Romania features a striking cluster of smoky brown Quartz crystals accented by pale cream to light beige Calcite. The Quartz points are glossy, translucent to semi-opaque, and tightly intergrown across the specimen, with several sharp terminations visible around the edges and upper surface. The Calcite forms sparkling crusts, rims, and plate-like encrustations over portions of the Quartz, giving the piece a layered, frosted appearance while still allowing the dark Smokey Quartz points to show through. Small brassy metallic flecks are also visible in areas, adding subtle golden highlights against the earthy brown and cream tones.
Smokey Quartz is a dark variety of Quartz, with its smoky coloration caused by natural irradiation and trace aluminum within the crystal structure. Quartz has been prized since antiquity for carving, ornament, and mineral collecting, and Romania is well known for fine hydrothermal mineral specimens from historic mining regions such as Maramures County and the Baia Mare district. Calcite, the white to cream mineral present on this piece, is a calcium carbonate mineral known for its many crystal forms and its frequent association with Quartz, sulfides, and other hydrothermal minerals.
In crystal traditions, smoky quartz is associated with grounding and protection, and calcite with cleansing and clarity.
Chemical Composition: Calcite: CaCO3, Quartz: SiO2
Quantity: 1pc
With this product, you will get the actual stone in the photograph.