Red rutile is a striking variety of titanium dioxide, often found as sharp, needle-like acicular crystals embedded in quartz. Collectors highly prize pieces featuring clear quartz containing distinct red rutile inclusions, often referred to as rutilated quartz.
Is this red rutile?
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 red rutile with a known reference. Red Rutile sits at Mohs 6-6.5 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Red Rutile leaves a pale brown streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Red Rutile typically shows a metallic to adamantine luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: red, reddish-brown.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: tetragonal. Typical habit: acicular, striated prismatic, reticulated.
Often confused with
Red Rutile vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Red Rutile leaves pale brown, Brookite leaves white to yellowish-white; luster reads metallic to adamantine on Red Rutile and submetallic on Brookite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Red Rutile leaves pale brown, Anatase leaves white to pale yellow; luster reads metallic to adamantine on Red Rutile and adamantine on Anatase.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Red Rutile leaves pale brown, Tourmaline leaves white; luster reads metallic to adamantine on Red Rutile and vitreous on Tourmaline.
Often found alongside red rutile
Minerals reported to co-occur with red rutile. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- TiO₂
- Mohs hardness
- 6-6.5
- Density
- 4.2-4.4 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Pale Brown
- Luster
- Metallic to Adamantine
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Tetragonal
- Crystal habit
- Acicular, Striated Prismatic, Reticulated
- Cleavage
- Good in Two Directions
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Collector, Lapidary
- Host rock
- Quartz Veins, Pegmatites, Metamorphic Rocks
- Typical price
- $10-100 per specimen
Where rockhounds find red rutile
1 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Brazil
- USA
- Norway
- Pakistan
- Switzerland
Field-hunting tip
Look in quartz veins, pegmatites, metamorphic rocks country — that is the host setting where red rutile typically forms. If you start seeing quartz, hematite, albite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a acicular, striated prismatic, reticulated habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Georgia — start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find red rutile on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
