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.
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.
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 dense cluster of dark smoky-brown Quartz crystals rising across a natural matrix base. The crystals show strong pointed terminations, with a mixture of larger central points and smaller surrounding growths creating a rugged, mountain-like formation. Many of the crystals have glossy faces beneath a natural gray-white surface coating, giving the specimen an earthy, weathered texture while still showing flashes of vitreous luster. The broad, low profile and heavily crystallized surface make it a striking display piece for collectors of European Quartz specimens.
Smokey Quartz is a naturally dark variety of Quartz, with its brown to gray coloration caused by natural radiation interacting with trace aluminum within the crystal structure over long periods of geological time. Quartz has been valued for thousands of years for tools, jewelry, ornamentation, and scientific uses, and it remains one of the most recognizable mineral species in the world. Romanian Smokey Quartz specimens are commonly associated with the Carpathian mining regions, especially historic hydrothermal vein deposits known for Quartz, sulfides, and complex mineral combinations.
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.