Tuesday, September 01, 2015

Giveaway: Rose Quartz

Plus Rocks.

Awesome Surprise for Awesome People
Please see the main post for more details!

Prize pack includes:
1 piece of rose quartz

Okay, besides the list of prizes in the main post, you can't be surprised that I've thrown a rock in here.  Or mineral, in this case.  What's the difference between a mineral and a rock, you ask?  A mineral is a natural (or sometimes man-made!) substance with a characteristic chemical composition and atomic structure and specific physical properties (like creating a coloured streak on a piece of ceramic, being hard enough to cut glass or soft enough to scratch with your fingernail, having a metallic shine, or breaking in nice, often parallel, flat planes)  A rock is an aggregate, made up of often multiple minerals and doesn't have a specific chemical characteristic.

Clear as mud?  Are you saying to yourself right now, 'Heather, it's too damn early for science crap'?  That's okay!  Really, if you're not interested in all of that, just smile and nod, ignore the sciency bits, and admire the pretty rock *coughmineralcough*.

Awesome Surprise for Awesome People
Because boy is it pretty!  These photos don't give it justice at all, it's much pinker than my camera was willing to show.

Quartz is a silicate mineral, and the chemical composition is SiO2.  It's chemically similar to regular old window glass, which is made by melting - get this - quartz sand.  Cool, eh?  So a lot of the properties you see in glass is present in quartz.

Quartz is my all time favourite minerals.  There are other favs, of course, I doubt there's a geologist alive who only have one, but this one is definitely up at the top for me.  It's also one of the most commonly found minerals on the Earth's crust.  So lucky me, I'm pretty happy where ever I go!

Source

Why is it my favourite?  There's a few reasons.  The very first thing that charmed me about this mineral (and it's beyond my comprehension why) was the conchoidal way that it fractures, where the fractures in the rock are concave and rounded, resembling a shell.  And how can you resist a mineral that can naturally form into a heart?!

Although, one of my least favourite things is it's crystal habit.  Probably because it's so over-used - everywhere you go, you can find quartz crystals being sold for their "meaning".  I'm sorry, there aren't many geologist who hold to that stuff.

But if you do (and I promise I won't judge you!), rose quartz is apparently "known as the 'Love Stone' and is said to be the stone of unconditional love. This crystal opens the Heart Chakra and is believed to encourage forgiveness and to help you to let go of anger, resentment and jealousy."

OKAY MOVING ON.

I also love that it comes in a variety of colours.  Guys, this mineral can be clear, white, purple, pink, brown, black, grey, green, orange, red, yellow, and blue.  It can also be multicoloured or banded.  Seriously!  Smoky quartz is my all time favourite, but unfortunately I don't have a sample to share with you guys right now.  The reason it comes in such a range is that quartz crystal structure of quartz is able to accept impurities well.

Awesome Surprise for Awesome People
Rose quartz possibly gets it's pink colour from tiny amounts of titanium in rutile (TiO2) inclusions, or possibly by something else - the debate has been raging for decades.  Regardless, it's a lovely variety of quartz, and one found in a lot of places.  Even here, somewhere.  I know there's a deposit somewhere between Whitehorse and Skagway, and I'm determined to find it someday!  That's where this sample came from, actually.  So some lucky winner will be receiving a genuine Yukon (or Alaskan - haven't narrowed it down yet) rose quartz sample!

Interested in having a pretty rock mineral for your shelf?  Please sign up below!  And don't forget to let me know how I can reach you if you win.  Link to an email in a profile, Ravelry account, or note it below.  GOOD LUCK!

10 comments:

  1. Quartz is one of my favorite minerals too! This one looks so pretty here, I can imagine how gorgeous it must be in person!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful If it would like to come to the UK, there is room on our shelves...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am posting to tell you I think it is beautiful, and now, it is also interesting! I love listening to experts who are really passionate about their subject, the enthusiasm is catching. :) But don't put me in the draw because I can't have you paying postage on a heavy thing like that to NZ xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. I confess that the common-ness of quartz always made it seem mundane to me, although considering that mundane means "of the earth," that assessment now seems more descriptive than pejorative. I've always been attracted to hematite (because polished, charcoal-colored hematite is hypnotic) and to moonstone (because of a book I read once that made it sound elegant and other-worldly). I had pieces of both once, although I'm not sure what happened to them. I think it's high time I revived the rock collection as a form of decor chez moi. If you agree, you can reach me as Dreamsong on Revelry. 😉

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy blog anniversary, Heather! Rose quartz is one of my favorite stones and I'd love to win this giveaway. Besides that lovely hue, It's metaphysical strength is also why I'm attracted towards it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. My email is is cs19647 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com

      Delete
  6. This is, by far, the neatest giveaway you've offered! Not just because it's a fascinating stone( I mean mineral) but because it's so personal. I remember collecting rocks with my brother on a camping trip with my grandparents. Some friends of my grandparents gave us some crystals to share. We fought over the most perfect quartz piece so fiercely my grandmother took it and kept it. I still love collecting shells and rocks from places we go, unless it's some place like the Petrified a Forest or Machu Picchu, and setting them around our house. I wonder how many people, besides geologists, have favorite rocks around their home?
    Oh yeah, I'm mamatronic on rav

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love rose quartz! A mineral that naturally forms into a heart? That is so cool!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love this quartz! And this jewel is surely bringing good luck to the winner!

    ReplyDelete