Strawberry Quartz

Strawberry quartz is clear to translucent quartz that gets its pink to reddish-pink color from dense inclusions of iron oxide minerals - typically hematite, goethite, or lepidocrocite in microscopic platelet or needle forms. These inclusions scatter light internally, giving the quartz a warm pink glow and sometimes a subtle sparkle.

The 'strawberry' name comes from the stone's resemblance to the color of strawberry juice - a warm, slightly orange-tinted pink distinct from rose quartz's cooler pink. Unlike rose quartz (where the color comes from microscopic dumortierite fibers), strawberry quartz's color comes from visible iron oxide inclusions.

Genuine strawberry quartz is relatively rare and significantly more expensive than rose quartz. This price difference has created a market flooded with imitations - dyed quartz, synthetic red glass, and even melted-down cherry quartz glass are all commonly sold as 'strawberry quartz.'

Strawberry quartz is identified by its translucent pink-red color with visible iron oxide inclusions (often sparkly or reflective under light). At hardness 7, it's standard quartz hardness. The color should show visible included particles rather than being uniformly colored.

Distinguish from rose quartz (cooler pink, no visible sparkly inclusions, much more common), dyed quartz (uniform color, dye in cracks), and cherry quartz glass (contains bubbles, too uniform, feels warm). Under magnification, genuine strawberry quartz shows platelet or needle inclusions of iron oxide.