Clear quartz, or rock crystal, is the purest variety of crystalline quartz characterized by its excellent transparency and classic prismatic habit. It is found globally in a wide variety of geological settings, often forming stunning, water-clear clusters or large single terminated points.
Is this clear quartz?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch clear quartz with a known reference. Clear Quartz sits at Mohs 7 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Clear Quartz leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Clear Quartz typically shows a vitreous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: colorless, white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: trigonal. Typical habit: prismatic crystals with pyramidal terminations.
Often confused with
Clear Quartz vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Clear Quartz is noticeably harder (Mohs 7 vs. 3).
How to tell apart: Clear Quartz is noticeably harder (Mohs 7 vs. 4.5-5); luster reads vitreous on Clear Quartz and vitreous to pearly on Apophyllite.
How to tell apart: Topaz is the harder of the two (Mohs 8 vs. 7).
Often found alongside clear quartz
Minerals reported to co-occur with clear quartz. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- SiO₂
- Mohs hardness
- 7
- Density
- 2.65 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Crystal habit
- Prismatic Crystals with Pyramidal Terminations
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Collector, Lapidary, Industrial, Decorative
- Host rock
- Granite Pegmatites, Hydrothermal Veins, Sedimentary Rocks
- Typical price
- $5-50 thumbnail, $50-500 cabinet
Where rockhounds find clear quartz
4 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Arkansas, USA
- Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Alps, Switzerland
- Madagascar
- Himalayas, India
Field-hunting tip
Look in granite pegmatites, hydrothermal veins, sedimentary rocks country — that is the host setting where clear quartz typically forms. If you start seeing feldspar, mica, chlorite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a prismatic crystals with pyramidal terminations habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Connecticut, Colorado, Georgia — start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find clear quartz on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
