Quartz is a mineral that is quite variant yet abundant in nature. Even if you’re not into minerals, crystals, and gemstones, in particular, there is a good chance that you owned quartz as a decorative crystal at some point in your life. If anything you must’ve heard about it and its abundance. Being quite a common mineral, a lot of people and novice collectors think that it’s not quite worth it. But, you’d be surprised to see the actual value of this shiny mineral.
Although there are many pristine and gorgeous-looking gemstones in the world, many of which are rarer compared to quartz, this crystal still makes a nice addition to the gem collection. What’s more, it’s one of the first gemstones you should consider getting for your collection and make it your first, pioneer gemstone.
Quick summary: The quartz value starts at $2-7 per carat. But, this value depends on many different factors. Learn more about them as you continue reading.
Additionally, you may have found old quartz laying around and you don’t know whether you evaluated and identified it properly. If you’re short on money you may be worried that you won’t be able to sell it because it’s considered a relatively rare crystal. But the truth is different.
Depending on what type, color, and amount of quartz you have laying around in your place, you may be able to make some decent cash on it, and save it for buying some rarer crystal to have on you.
Whatever may be the case, this article will serve as your encyclopedia in determining the value of quartz depending on the measurements (carat, ounce, kilo…) as well as the type and color. Know that amethyst is a type of quartz that is the most valuable, so it’ll be good if you can sell it for a good amount.
Continue reading this article to learn more about how much is quartz worth and how to evaluate quartz at home. You’ll also learn other important things about buying and selling quartz, so don’t stop reading once you learn the value!
About Quartz & Its Variations
As we mentioned above, quartz is one of the crystals with many variations, and whether you’re buying or selling them, it’d be good to learn more about them. Before that, let’s grasp the basic info about quartz. All collectors know quite a lot about the items they are collecting, so it’s always good to have decent knowledge and information on the matter, as it’ll make the collection process much easier.
As per geology.com, quartz is the most abundant mineral which can be found inside Earth’s crust. Partly it consists of silicon and part of oxygen. Its chemical formula is SiO2. Interestingly, despite its abundance, it’s quite durable which makes it resistant to chemical and physical damage and weathering.
While other rocks and surfaces will weather away, the quartz crystals will be revealed and stand firm, as well as other material on the Earth’s surface that has mixed up with quartz. Quartz is so abundant on Earth that most of the beaches you’ve probably visited in life have sand that contains quartz.
Quartz is formed inside an igneous rock. However, the chemical process that gets it formed is more complex than it sounds. Due to volcanic activity and other geological activity magma travels through the Earth’s crust and although it is extremely hot, it starts cooling with the lessening of that activity.
As the magma cools down, the silicon dioxide inside the magma begins to crystalize due to the temperature change. Magma may cool fast or slower due to geological activity, but as the magma cools slower, the bigger will be the quartz crystals once they formed due to contact with oxygen.
It’s important to mention that quartz doesn’t only form inside the igneous rock, it can also be found inside silica-rich waters. The process of its formation is quite similar to the one inside the igneous rock. As the water temperature in the silica water changes, the water becomes saturated with silica, and with a reaction in oxygen inside and outside the water quartz is formed.
There are a lot of daily practices where quartz can be used. Thanks to its durability and inertion to other substances, it can be used to make electronic devices, as well as jewelry. One of the most important uses for quartz is being used to produce container glass, flat plate glass, fiberglass, and specialty glass. That’s thanks to the high-purity silica sands which can be found on all sorts of beaches.
Needless to say, Quartz is also popular for gem and crystal collections for mystic and spiritual purposes. If you want to collect quartz for that purpose, given that it has a wide specter of spiritual meanings, make sure to check all the types and colors of quartz to collect them all below.
- Pink: This is one of the most valuable and beautiful types of quartz. While to many it may look pink, some people call it strawberry quartz due to its darker freckles over the pink foundation. This type of quartz is cut in round cabochons and clarity is one of the biggest price marks next to the beauty.
- Rose: Some may mistake this one for pink quartz, but if you take a close look you’ll see the variety of rose gold and other distinct features that can be found only on rose gold quartz. It’s cloudier compared to pink quartz and more uniform, which gives it a higher price.
- Smokey: Smokey or smoky is a valuable type of quartz, although it’s mostly brown, sometimes you may find it to look completely black. If the particular quartz doesn’t have any fractures, it’ll be more valuable. Smokey quartz is cut into the Asscher cut as well as emerald to be used as backdrops. However, if there is a variation of colors and imperfections, its value will be lower.
- Green: Green and often yellow quartz form from the same mineral relationship and belong to the same category. These two types of quartz are more often seen as abundant compared to other colors which also gives them a cheaper value. However, they have great physical properties such as reflection and clarity which makes them popularly found on jewelry.
- Clear: Although it looks pretty basic at first, it’s less abundant compared to green quartz, but its basic color doesn’t make it the most valuable type of quartz. If you’re trying to sell or buy clear quartz, it’s best to sell to a jeweler or try with some other particular industry.
- Amethyst: This is the most valuable type of quartz which you can own, which also sets its price much higher compared to non-purple quartz variants. It’s often called a true gemstone because of its purple color and because it is found among locations where other gemstones are also found.
Read More: How Much Are Crystals Worth? (Quartz, Amethyst, Swarowski, And Other Crystals)
Does Quartz Have Any Value?
We mentioned multiple times throughout this article that quartz is a quite common mineral, and that it’s also quite easy to obtain. This makes many people think that it is extremely common and also means that it doesn’t have any value whatsoever.
Many things determine whether quartz has any value, and that is the condition and color of quartz. If you have amethyst you can expect to get quite some money for it, and if you have yellow, green, or clear quartz you’re likely not to get much for it.
But, then again, it also depends on whether you have a single crystal or a larger quartz collection that you want to sell. One of the best ways to know whether your quartz has any value is to hire an appraiser, but below we’re also going to list the explicit value point for all types of quartz.
All collectors are on the look for special traits that your quartz may possess, below we’ll discuss which traits are that.
Also Read: Most Valuable Rocks And Minerals: Identifying, Valuing, Collecting, And Buying
How Much Is Quartz Worth?
We established that quartz definitely has value. Whether that value will be lower or higher for you depends on certain factors, below we discuss what are the Quartz values on the market and what they mean for you whether you’re buying or selling quartz.
For that purpose, we crafted a compelling chart that displays the value for quartz depending on the amount you’re trying to sell/buy, but we also looked into the specific colors. That being said, there are two value points you can use to orient yourself.
It’s also important to note that the value of quartz changes, sometimes even on a daily level. One of the most reliable websites to keep up with the gem prices is gemsociety.org. You will, however, have to subscribe to the premium plan to see the authentic prices, which can be a hassle for those who want to make a quick sale or a purchase.
It’s worth mentioning that the value of your crystal may not be explicitly the one that we displayed in the charts. One of the reasons is the storage you provided for the crystal while it was with you, the luster, the condition, whether it suffered some damage, and much more. If the quartz was cut poorly its value will be decreased.
Finally, although it’s impossible to say where the crystal was found, appraisers can usually recognize the exact location of the crystal you’re trying to evaluate, which also determines the overall values. All in all, here is a chart of quartz worth based on the weight you’re trying to buy or sell.
| Weight | Price |
| Per carat | $2-7 |
| Per gram | $10 |
| Per ounce | $285-$300 |
| Per pound | $4500-4800 |
This chart will give you a general idea of what to look at when you’re buying or selling quartz. If you don’t have much of it, selling per carat is your best option. But, per kilo or pound may turn out to be the most valuable thing if you have a lot of quartz at your disposal.
Still, don’t forget that this is just the basic value for quartz, let’s take a look at the colored quartz value per carat in the following chart.
| Quartz Color | Price per carat |
| Pink | $6-12 |
| Rose` | $2-4 |
| Milky | $1-4 |
| Smokey | $3-5 |
| White | $2-3 |
| Green | $1,5-2 |
| Purple | $7-15 |
| Clear | $2 |
| Lemon Yellow | $1.5 |
You can see that some varieties of quartz are less valuable compared to others. Certainly, the purple quartz also called Amethyst has the greatest value per carat, with that value becoming just bigger with different measurement units and in greater amounts.
How to Evaluate Quartz?
What are some ways to evaluate quartz? You can always hire an appraiser and get a professional opinion that will help you get the best value for your mineral collectible. Other ways of evaluation include consulting forums and online appraisers, so you can get multiple opinions.
Below we plan to educate you on evaluating quartz by identifying different colors, conditions, origins, luster, and more. That way, you can lay your foundation so that even if you hire an appraiser you can know certain types of quartz.
Color
Above we saw that some colors and varieties of quartz may play an important role in determining the overall worth of the crystal. But compared to some other traits, it may not be so relevant. If you want to sell it to some industry sector color won’t be important, but to collectors, color means a lot.
Some colors may have a more eye-pleasing look thanks to their color which may be more valuable to some collectors. In jewelry, for pieces that have a minimalistic tone clear or cloudy quartz will have a better value than pink quartz. Keep in mind that the color is also determined by where the quartz was created.
That being said, if your quartz is amethyst, it’ll have a greater value, just like the rose and pink quartz.
Size
Above we displayed different measurement units which showcase how much is quartz worth in different units. If you have a pound of quartz it’ll be more valuable compared to a small amount of one or a few carats.
Quartz is a common mineral, which means that the buyer will also judge how many quartz crystals you’re trying to sell on you. If a collector wants to buy it, he or she will ask how many of them are in the collection.
Clarity
If your piece of quartz has a milkier or cloudier texture, it means it’ll be less valuable compared to those that allow the light to be absorbed and reflected creating the crystalline appearance. Those that absorb the light also have a clearer luster which is something that jewelers, as well as collectors, are after. Still, some industries may prefer less clear specimens.
Authentic Look
Even though quartz crystals are considered common, you will always find a specimen that has some unique and authentic touch made only by the nature itself. Geologists and other scientists alike who worked on quartz have reported that there are options found that had unique appearance traits and marks that made these quartz specimens stand out compared to the others and also increased their value.
Imperfections
If you had your quartz stones and crystals for a while, it’s likely that they suffered some wear and tear throughout the time. This can happen due to reaction with the environment, as well as mistreating the crystal (for example treating it roughly or dropping it.)
If you hired an appraiser, they will be able to easily spot the imperfections and reflect on whether that affects the value or not. Nevertheless, always keep in mind that appraisers will always value crystals that are in pristine condition and have little to no noticeable flaws.
You may be able to tell your quartz crystal looks perfect with the naked eye, but some people eyed and checked these crystals for many years, which sharpened their eyes, especially when they check them using the equipment. It may not be important, but collectors truly value specimens without flaws.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Shopping for quartz as well as selling it always implies a lot of questions. We collected the most commonly asked questions and answered them here.
Where Can You Buy Quartz?
There are two popular places to buy quartz. One of them is on the street and in crystal stores. On the other hand, it may be much easier to buy it online. Flea markets and auctions selling items and garnets which are made of quartz are also feasible options.
When it comes to online shopping, bigquartz.com can be a good place to buy quartz. Amazon, Etsy, and eBay are also good places to shop for quartz, but unless you’re buying at eBay auctions the other two options may either present you with homemade jewelry or clear quartz which is more common.
What Makes Quartz So Valuable?
Although quartz may appear quite invaluable due to its abundance, what many people don’t know is that a lot of processing work goes into transforming raw quartz into a gorgeous gemstone that appears on many people’s jewelry. Pure and flawless quartz is also more difficult to find and keep in that condition during the refining process. That’s exactly what adds up to its value.
I found a rock,and it looks like crystals in it,how would I find out about it.