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Quartz (variety: Rock Crystal)

Two thousand years ago, the Greeks looked at quartz and wondered: What is it? They concluded that this clear, hard substance was water frozen so hard it couldn't melt. So they gave it their word for "ice," crystallos-the origin of the word crystal. This photo shows the clear, colorless variety of quartz called rock crystal.

Group: Oxides
Image Number: image C09-14

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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Geology, Gems, and Minerals Subject Guide Credits