Bronze Rutilated Quartz

Bronze rutilated quartz is a trade colour name for natural quartz containing brownish, bronze- or copper-coloured rutile needles. GIA notes that golden and copper-coloured rutile is traditionally seen in quartz, and the International Gem Society describes rutile inclusions ranging from golden to brown. There is no standard boundary between "bronze", golden and red rutilated quartz.

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Full material guide
Material facts

What the material is, where it comes from or how it is made, identification and care, from the cited sources.

Properties

Material type Natural mineral: quartz with mineral inclusions (not a separate species)
Inclusions Rutile (TiO₂), brown to copper-coloured needles
Host mineral Quartz, SiO₂ (usually colourless rock crystal)
Mohs hardness (quartz host) 7
Specific gravity (quartz host) 2.65
Refractive index (quartz host) 1.544 to 1.553

Origins & sources

Rutilated quartz is found mainly in Brazil. The rutile needles grew first and were then enclosed by the growing quartz.

Identification

Rutile's recorded colours include brown, brownish yellow and brown-red, and GIA notes reddish-brown rutile in quartz. Other needle-like minerals such as tourmaline or actinolite can also occur in quartz, so a brown needle is confirmed as rutile only by testing, for example Raman spectroscopy, in which rutile shows its strongest peaks near 445 and 600 cm⁻¹.

Care

The host is quartz, with a Mohs hardness of 7. JCK advises washing off dust before wiping the stone with a cloth, because dust of similar hardness can leave fine scratches that gradually dull the polish. The International Gem Society lists no special care instructions and no heat sensitivity for quartz.

History & culture

History

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Cultural meanings

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Traditional beliefs

Not collected yet

Sources

Collected Oct 23, 2026