Stone Mania

Rose quartz is one of the most desirable varieties of quartz.  Its pink to rose red colour is completely unique and unlike any other pink mineral.  It is thought to be caused by manganese, iron or titanium impurities.

Fine gem quality rose quartz is rare as it tends to be too cloudy to be faceted so is normally used for  cabochons and beads instead.  Having said this, very fine quality rose quartz can be faceted but it is rare.

Crystals are quite unusual which is considered strange  as they are commonly found in all other quartz varieties, instead rose quartz is usually found in solid masses. 

There is little known historically about rose quartz, however beads have been found in Mesopotamia which date back to 7000 BC.  It is also believed to have been used by the Assyrians in 800 - 600 BC and also in ancient Rome where it was popular for making seals.

Rose quartz is highly sought after for its medicinal, spiritual and emotional uses.  It is known as 'a stone of gentle love' because of its ability to bring peacefulness and calm to relationships.  It balances the yin-yang and also promotes the joy of life and happiness hence bringing contentment in love to the wearer.  Rose quartz is said to open up the heart for both giving and receiving love, it soothes negative influences and is ideal for dealing with issues on an emotional level and can help with self love as well as dealing with a broken heart.

Rose quartz is excellent for someone who has trouble loving themselves or accepting love from another because they do not believe that they are worthy of being loved.  It is used by healers for treating cardiovascular health, fertility, headaches, kidney disease, migraines and sexual dysfunction as well as those disorders occurring in the throat, ears, nose and sinuses.

Rose Quartz is found in Madagascar, India, Germany and the USA, however most of the world's supply of good quality gemstones now come from the Minas Gerais area of Brazil.

Rose quartz is graded 7 on Mohs scale of mineral hardness.

The following links offer further reading on rose quartz

http://www.galleries.com/minerals/GEMSTONE/ROSE_QUA/rose_qua.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartz#Rose_quartz