Golden Rutilated Quartz

Rutilated quartz is found mainly in Brazil; Mindat illustrates specimens from Bahia, including Novo Horizonte. The rutile needles grew first and were then enclosed by the growing quartz. In the prized six-rayed stars, the rutile grew epitaxially on a hematite crystal, which GIA has observed at the centre of such a star.

Rutile inclusions range from golden to brown, and bright golden needles are the most sought after. Quartz can also enclose other needle-like minerals such as tourmaline or actinolite, so needle colour alone does not prove rutile; laboratories identify the inclusion with methods such as Raman spectroscopy. A Chinese study found that the golden "hair crystal" sold in the market contained rutile. Synthetic quartz lacks natural inclusions of this kind.

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.

Rutilated quartz has long carried poetic names: Mindat lists "Venus' hair stone" and "flèches d'amour" (French for "arrows of love"), and the International Gem Society uses "Venus hair" and "angel hair" for quartz with fine gold rutile inclusions.