Identification

Quartz Identification Sheet

Field identification cues for quartz and its common varieties, with a decision path for separating it from lookalikes.

Rock type: Igneous, Metamorphic, Hydrothermal

For: Collectors, Students

Mohs hardness 7
Streak White
Luster Vitreous
CleavageNone (conchoidal fracture)
Crystal habit Prismatic, Pyramidal Hexagonal prisms terminating in pyramids

Quartz is one of the most abundant minerals and the most commonly misidentified. Use hardness and the absence of cleavage as the primary tests, then confirm with luster and crystal habit.

Common lookalikes

Calcite (softer, effervesces), topaz (harder, has cleavage), beryl (hexagonal but harder).