Insouciant Studios Mink Earrings Petro Tourmaline and Smokey Quartz

Insouciant Studios Presents the "Mink" Earrings featuring lovely natural petro tourmaline beads above genuine faceted natural smokey quartz briolettes. 14k Gold filled construction with Vermiel (14k gold plate over sterling silver) earwires. These earrings feature easy, versatile style in a rich brown color that goes with everything.

Measurements
Total Length 1 1/2 inches, (~4 cm)
~1/2 inch wide at quartz briolette (~ 1.5 cm)

Materials

Quartz (SiO2, Silicon Dioxide) is the second most abundant mineral of the Earth's crust. Quartz has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, an occurs in a variety of colors, from colorless to black. Some of the colors have their own gem names:
Purple: Amethyst
Yellow: Citrine
Yellow and Purple: Ametrine
Green: Prasiolite
White: Milk, snow
Brown/gray/black: Smoke
Pink: Rose
[Mineralogy, Perkins]

Tourmaline [(Na, Ca)(Fe, Mg, Al, Li)3Al6(BO3)3 Si6)18(OH)4] is a highly variable mineral with a hardness of 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale. It occurs in many colors, including black, blue, green, pink, and colorless. The color is often zoned (more than one color in a crystal or gem). It is commonly associated with quartz and potassium feldspar, and is structurally related to beryl, cordierite, and dioptase. It is one of the few common Boron minerals. [Mineralogy, Perkins]