Quartz makes up more than 12% of the earths crust. In addition to being one of the most abundant minerals on the planet it is also one of the most versatile.

Quartz is used in the revolving mechanisms of watches and clocks because it is hard enough to resist wear. It is also an important component of medical and scientific instruments such as oscilloscopes, frequency stabilisers and ultra sound generators. It is also used as an abrasive in detergents and toothpaste.     
 

Due to the fact that it vibrates at a constant frequency it is used in calculators, computer chips and other electronic components.

Although colourless when pure, quartz can be transformed into almost any colour by the presence of impurities that lodge inside the crystal. This phenomenon makes it a very popular gemstone. Amethyst, rose quartz, smoky quartz, morion and citrine are all simply different coloured variations of normal quartz. 

Since ancient times, quartz has been accorded mystical powers. Fortune tellers use crystal balls made of quartz to divine the future and there and many people today that make use of quartz crystals as a healing tool.

Quartz appears in a variety of guises: in crystals varying form tiny to massive, in great masses covering large areas or in fine grains.

It is common in sedimentary rocks. Quartz is also found in rock cavities called geodes. Although these rocks look solid from the outside, when split open they are hollow and lined with quartz crystals.

Quartz is turned into crystals when molten rock that is rich in silica cools down. Huge formations of this type are found in Alpine locations such as Mont Blanc and the St Gotthard pass in Switzerland. cavities yielding over 50 tonnes of well formed crystals have also been found in Germany.

Many large clear crystals are also found in Madagascar and Brazil.