Quartz & hematite

Quartz – SiO2
Elements: Silicon, Oxygen
Class: Silicates – Tectosilicates
Crystal System: Hexagonal
Hardness: 7
Quartz
Talc (1)Diamond (10)
Very hard. Scratches glass and steel.
Hematite – Fe2O3
Elements: Iron, Oxygen
Class: Oxides
Crystal System: Hexagonal
Hardness: 5-6
Orthoclase
Talc (1)Diamond (10)
About as hard as a steel knife blade.
Origin: Jinlong Hill, Longchuan co, Heyuan, Guangdong – China
Did you know?

Pressing a quartz crystal makes it give off a precise electric beat, which is why it keeps time in nearly every watch and once tuned the radios of World War II, when good crystals were a strategic resource.

Hematite is named from the Greek for blood, and it keeps the secret well: a silvery or black specimen, scratched or powdered, leaves a vivid blood-red streak.