Rock crystal has been found in crevices of petrified wood in many east
and southeast Texas counties, although the crystals are mostly quite
small.
Many lesser occurrences of rock crystal, too numerous to mention, are
located within the State.
_Rose quartz_ (pink quartz).—Rose quartz occurs at various localities in
Burnet, Llano, Mason, and Gillespie counties, but the amount of material
is mostly small and the greater part unsuitable for gem purposes. Some
good pink rose quartz occurs near Town Mountain, Llano County, but this
material does not have flawless areas large enough to yield faceted
stones of more than a few carats. Rose quartz is always slightly milky,
or cloudy, and does not cut into brilliant faceted stones. The Town
Mountain rose quartz has been cut into attractive cabochons.
_Smoky quartz_ (brown, yellow-brown, and golden-brown quartz).—Several
Texas localities have produced fine smoky quartz. Baringer Hill, a noted
rare-earth minerals pegmatite locality in Llano County, contained some
smoky quartz crystals that were estimated to weigh over 1,000 pounds,
and the locality produced many smaller crystals that were of gem
quality. Baringer Hill was flooded by the completion of Buchanan Dam in
1938 and is presently under the waters of Lake Buchanan. A few fine
golden-brown gem-quality crystals have been found along the lake shore
and in small pegmatites nearby (Pl. III, B.).
Feldspar quarries in northeastern Gillespie County have produced smoky
quartz crystals that exceed 1 foot in length, but these crystals are
mostly flawed, possibly as a result of blasting, and mostly contain only
small clear areas.
Good color smoky quartz crystals are found with topaz in the pegmatites
and stream beds in Mason County, near Streeter, Grit, and Katemcy. These
crystals tend to be lighter colored than those near Lake Buchanan, but
they commonly contain large flawless areas.
CRYPTOCRYSTALLINE VARIETIES
_Chalcedony._—When free from impurities of various oxides and other
compounds, chalcedony has little to render it pleasing as a gemstone. It
is mostly gray, white, brown, or bluish and commonly has a waxy luster.
Some of the chalcedony found along the Rio Grande Valley and in west
Texas will take dyes, and local lapidaries have had some success in
dyeing this material various shades of blue, green, yellow, and red.
When the chalcedony is naturally colored and variegated, usually in
bands, mossy figures, or dendritic forms, it is called agate.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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