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Assessing the true value of a quartz specimen can be quite challenging due to its various colors, cuts, and crystalline formations. However, this guide aims to provide you with essential factors to consider when evaluating quartz gemstones.
Quartz’s clarity earns it a raw price of around $0.01/carat and a gem price of $1-$7/carat. Amethyst, or purple quartz, is the most valuable variety (can reach $15/carat), but pink, rose, and smokey quartz are also valuable. Clearer, more vibrant, and unbroken specimens are the most valuable quartz.
The prices per carat vary widely throughout time, and there are many things to look out for – including imitations and fractures – when appraising a quartz gem.
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Is Quartz Crystal Worth Anything?
For newcomers exploring the world of quartz gemstones, a common initial question arises: Does this seemingly common material hold any real value? Fortunately, there’s a straightforward and reassuring answer.
While quartz is indeed abundant, it possesses inherent worth due to its unique properties. Although it may not command prices as high as diamonds or other popular colored gems, high-quality quartz specimens always find a place in the market thanks to their beauty and utility.
Beyond its use in the gem trade, quartz plays a crucial role in various industries. Its electromagnetic properties, for instance, make it indispensable for precise timekeeping in luxury Swiss watches. Additionally, quartz, with its chemical composition of SiO2 or silicon dioxide, serves as a stable semiconductor in many high-end consumer electronics.
However, within the gemstone industry, quartz stands apart in terms of cost dynamics compared to other gems. Typically, the labor involved in cutting, polishing, and manufacturing represents only a fraction of the final product’s value for most precious minerals, as the raw material itself is rare.
In the case of quartz, however, labor accounts for a significant portion of the selling price. This unique dynamic is crucial to understand when dealing with quartz gemstones, as it influences pricing, sales, and trade strategies significantly. We’ll delve deeper into this aspect below.
Value of Quartz: Different Varieties & Units
To begin exploring the factors that influence quartz’s value, let’s first examine the average price range for different quartz varieties. The figures in this chart represent the typical costs for cut and polished quartz gemstones, with the exception of the “raw” category.
However, it’s important to note that gemstones go through an extensive lifecycle before reaching their final polished form. The specific point at which you acquire a quartz specimen – whether freshly extracted, purchased as rough from a reputable supplier, or an exquisitely finished display piece – will significantly impact its price.
Additionally, aspects like the location of the quartz and the precise cutting style employed can further affect valuation. We’ll delve deeper into these nuanced variations and other key considerations later.
Here are the average prices per carat of different quartz varieties.
| Quartz Variety | $/carat |
|---|---|
| Rose | 2-4 |
| Smokey | 3-5 |
| Milky | 1-4 |
| White | 2 |
| Purple | 7-15 |
| Green | 1.5 |
| Raw | 0.01 |
| Clear | 2 |
| Pink | 6-12 |
| Lemon | 1.5 |
Because conversions are sometimes confusing, here is how much average clear quartz gems cost for different weight units.
| Weight Unit | Price |
|---|---|
| per gram | $10 |
| per ounce | $285 |
| per pound | $4571 |
| per carat | $2 |
Purple quartz is the most valuable variety and will be examined in more detail in the following section.
Pink
The next most valuable type of quartz is pink or strawberry quartz. This variety takes on light clear pink with darker freckles and is usually cut into round cabochons.
The price for this type can vary widely and is mostly characterized by its clarity. Clearer specimens will deposit themselves higher in the price range, especially when the specks are clearly visible.
Rose
Though similar in color, rose quartz has some distinguishing features which set it apart from pink quartz. This variety is typically cloudy and, therefore not cut into sharp gemstone shapes.
On the other hand, it is most popular when tumbled and completely round. Such cloudy minerals are most valuable when uniform, so try to look for imperfections in color variation, which may push the price down to the 2 $/carat range.
Smokey
Smokey quartz (also spelled smoky) is a very valuable variety, which comes in all ranges of browns of equal value. You can find tan smokey quartz or an almost completely black variety.
Color variations are also responsible for price variations in gemstone quality smokey quartz – you’ll want to find a specimen without fractures that has the same shade of brown throughout.
Smokey quartz is also popularly displayed in its raw crystal form. In this case, color variation is desired and even typical – usually, near the base of the crystal is a clearer shade, while the tip can display an infinitely dark shade.
The highest quality smokey quartz gems are also popularly cut into gemstone shapes such as the emerald or Asscher cut and used as backdrops for more colorful and expensive colored stones.
Any color imperfections or an easier cut will decrease the value, while a pure color emerald cut smokey quartz will be at the top of the price range for this stone. Here’s my edit to clarify and expand on the details for green/yellow and clear quartz varieties:
Green/Yellow Quartz
These verdant and sunny quartz colors stem from the same mineral relationships, and their pricing tends to be similar. While more abundant than some other quartz varieties, their vibrant hues and good clarity and brilliance mean they are still frequently faceted into gemstones for jewelry. However, their relative commonality translates to more affordable prices overall.
Clear Quartz
Interestingly, clear rock crystal quartz is actually rarer than the yellow variety. However, its lack of distinct color causes it to be less popular as a gemstone due to its perceived simplicity. Vendors may find better opportunities in the industrial sector when selling raw clear quartz, where this variety’s exceptional transparency and refraction are highly prized for applications like optics and electronics.
TIP: Quartz is the mineral with the greatest variety. Check out the complete list of quartz varieties in the article below:
Complete List of Quartz Varieties: Know Them All!
What is the Most Valuable Quartz?
Purple quartz, or amethyst, is widely recognized as the most popular and most valuable variety of quartz. Amethyst is treated as a true gemstone most of the time – meaning it is found in much the same places as other colored gemstones, where you may not find clear or any other variety of quartz.
Though not the rarest, amethyst is the most famous variety, which drives demand much higher. Because you may be as curious as I am about the different aspects of amethyst as a gemstone, I will take you through the 4 c’s of this wonderful variety of quartz.
Its cut is what differentiates it from other varieties of quartz and sends it closer to the colored gemstone realm. While other varieties may be cut in a cabochon (round with few edges) style, clear amethyst is most valuable when faceted.
It takes many of the shapes that other colored gemstones take, most notably Asscher, emerald (pictured below), and baguette for structured or step cuts. It also looks great with round, oval, and cushion cuts.
The color of amethyst ranges from very light lavender to a deep royal purple. Different colors will have different values, but the deeper and darker colored stones usually have more intrinsic value.
They also take on a more natural look – purple is not a color found often in nature and can, therefore, seem artificial sometimes. It can also vary in color throughout the material.
Amethyst is just a variety of quartz that assumes its color because of the presence of other minerals around it. It can sometimes have clearer portions, especially closer to the source of the crystal’s growth.
A very high clarity usually characterizes quartz but is susceptible to fracturing. Amethyst is no exception, and most specimens you may find are already fractured, with cracks everywhere and only very small elements existing without cracks.
Because of this, any specialist will look carefully for imperfections when buying amethyst, so you should, too.
Amethyst exists in all carat weights; it can be found in geodes as hundreds of tiny specimens, and it can be found in large, unbroken pieces. Therefore, a rarity from the size will not affect the cost per carat price much.
There is one consideration that can actually provide a barrier for larger quartz specimens, though. Quartz has a vitreous luster that appears waxy most of the time, but this slowly looks duller and duller as size increases.
This property will not affect the average specimen but should be kept in mind when looking for massive gemstones.
TIP: Quartz is a hard and crystalline mineral that consists of two oxygen and one silicone atom. Find out more about quartz forming in the article below:
Forming of Quartz Crystals & Its Varieties Explained by PRO
What Makes Quartz Valuable?
Quartz’s value as a gemstone stems from the labor put into transforming it from a raw mineral to a gemstone. The value of raw quartz depends highly on its intactness, purity, and color.
Importance of Gem Cutters
Labor is an important part of the quartz industry because the raw material is not so rare, but the end product is still a beautiful, clear, colored gem.
However, it is also important because the mineral itself is not easy to work with. It has a conchoidal fracture and brittle tenacity, which are not common for gemstones, making it a specialized area of gem cutters.
Fracture is a property that speaks about how a stone looks after it is broken. Conchoidal fracture creates wavy, smooth curves along a broken surface.
If you think about the most attractive gemstones you’ve seen, you probably don’t think about curving surfaces – you usually think about clean, planar slices reflecting light in different directions.
Therefore, this property can be a large barrier between getting from raw quartz to a finished gemstone. It also notably makes it very hard for DIY’ers, who typically go for a round, tumbled look as a result.
Imitations
Quartz imitations are extremely popular as a result of this property also. Glass has a similar fracture and a similar clarity also, which makes it very easy to make a nearly indistinguishable quartz imitation to an untrained eye.
You will recognize huge companies like Swarovski, which make glass crystals that can look very similar to quartz crystals.
While quartz is still more valuable than these crystals, it’s interesting to look at all the similarities between the two materials. Glass is made from melted sand, which itself is actually almost 100% comprised of silicon and oxygen.
So quartz and glass are both made of virtually the same thing and are both almost completely devoid of any crystalline structure to be noted.
The similarities don’t end there – when comparing the price structures of glass imitation crystals and quartz crystals, the labor price of both dominates the end gemstone price due to cheap raw material cost.
The higher price of quartz can be attributed to the lower supply – since it’s easier to acquire glass than raw quartz, it’s relatively easy to find glass crystals for sale but harder to find quartz crystals for jewelry.
BTW: Do you want to know more about rock and mineral identification? The books listed below are the best ones you can find on the internet (Amazon links):
- Smithsonian Handbooks: Rocks & Minerals
- Gemstone & Crystal Properties (Quick Study Home)
- Ultimate Explorer Field Guide: Rocks and Minerals (National Geographic Kids)
Where Can I Sell Quartz Crystals?
So, if the imitations are so popular, you need to find a place where your natural material can be appreciated for what it is. There are different raw and crystal quartz markets, so you must go to different places to sell them.
Etsy and other niche online marketplaces are fantastic avenues to take if you’re just starting out your gemstone merchant career. There are also established shops on these platforms, which are very successful.
Another route is joining rock and crystal clubs and then attending their events. These are usually friendly, personal affairs where you can share your passion for minerals and exchange interesting specimens.
TIP: Do you know where to find quartz for selling? Beaches can be great places for finding quartz crystals. Check out how to find quartz on the beach in the article below:
Can You Find Quartz on the Beach? It Depends on How You Look
Where Can I Buy Quartz Crystals?
When in the market for quartz, you must decide whether you want to buy from a reputable company where there are avenues to find the origin of each gem reliably or if you want a more personal experience and a more creative piece.
Raw Quartz
Etsy, Amazon, and Joom online marketplaces are great places to find raw quartz. Many mineral wholesalers sell quartz.
I recommend searching these online marketplaces for raw quartz because it is relatively common, so fraud and other attempts to lie to you about what you are buying are less common.
Quartz Crystals and Jewelry
The best place to buy natural jewelry is inarguably local gem shows and rock exchanges. These are usually seasonal weekend events where rock merchants set up stands in a town square.
These are truly exciting events and provide a friendly atmosphere for mineral exchange. If you’re looking for a more valuable gem, reputable jewelry stores usually have a small selection of quartz.
Otherwise, any rock shop or soul shop will have creative quartz crystals.
TIP: Are you looking for tips on what to buy for your loved passionate rock seekers? Find out the best and not-so-common tips on gifts for rockhounds in the article below:
13 Best Gifts for Rockhounds You Should Buy