Rose quartz is the soft pink member of the quartz family, and it has been carved into beads and love tokens since at least 7000 BC in Mesopotamia. Its gentle colour, from barely-there blush to dusty rose, is now thought to come from microscopic fibrous inclusions related to the mineral dumortierite. Those same fibres give the stone its typical hazy, cloudy glow, and in some stones they line up well enough to produce a six-rayed star on a polished dome. Brazil and Madagascar supply most of the world's rose quartz.
Like all quartz, it is a 7 on the Mohs scale with no cleavage, so it is a relaxed, everyday stone for rings, beads and pendants. It is usually cut as cabochons, beads and carvings, since its charm is that dreamy translucence rather than sparkle. One tip: keep it out of strong sunlight for long stretches, as the pink can slowly pale. Warm, soapy water keeps it clean. Dyed quartz and glass imitations tend to look too vivid; genuine rose quartz is subtle by nature.
Other beautiful coloured quartz plus morganite, which is its main rival for that soft pink look.
