A brilliant red or black mineral, the rutile has a diamond-like luster and is composed of titanium oxide. It crystallizes in the tetrogonal system, usually in prismatic crystals ranging from opaque to transparent, and less often in compact massive formations. Some iron is usually present in the mineral, and sometimes constitutes 10% of the total content. The streak is pale brown; the hardness ranges from 6 to 6.5 and the specific gravity ranges between 4.18 and 4.25.

Rutile is used as a source of titanium and some deeply colored specimens are cut into brilliant gems with a diamond-like luster. The mineral is found as an accessory in many rocks such as granite, dolomite, metamorphic limestone and mica schist, and is often found as slender crystals in penetrating quartz. In the United States it is obtained in commercial quantities from the black sands of northeastern Florida. Notable deposits are also found in Georgia, North Carolina, and Arkansas, in Norway, France, and Switzerland in Europe.

Magic & Myth

Some have called the rutile Venus′ Hair Stone. Rutilated quartz is used to improve creativity, or to find someone's creative potential in all spheres of your life, be it art, music, cooking or gardening. It is believed to help you to concentrate your energy on your talents and can be used together with other stones. Rutile adds energy and life force to the clear quartz properties. A regenerator of people, crystals and plants, rutile helps resist aging and the general cellular breakdown caused by time.