Unusual Purple Fluid in Quartz
Recently the authors examined a 28.93 mm long, 27.76 ct transparent pear-shaped double cabochon rock crystal quartz that contained numerous fluid-filled negative crystals (figure 1). Oddly, some of the negative crystals also hosted a brightly colored purple liquid in addition to what appeared to be a colorless liquid, the two liquid phases being immiscible (figure 2).
Not all of the fluid inclusions within this quartz contained the purple component. However, all of the purple liquid–hosting negative crystals did contain partially healed, limonite-stained fractures intersecting them. This suggests that the purple fluid may have entered the negative crystal cavities through a post-growth or secondary process rather than homogeneous entrapment during growth.
While colored fluid inclusions have been previously reported in quartz—colors that include blue, yellow, and orange (see e.g., Spring 2004 Gem News International, pp. 79–81; Spring 2006 Gem News International, p. 71)—this is the authors’ first observation of a purple fluid trapped within quartz. Unfortunately, Raman spectroscopy to identify the fluid was unsuccessful, as the fluid was too deep in the crystal. While the composition of the fluid is unknown, as well as the conditions under which the fluid entered the quartz, there is no obvious indication that it resulted from an artificial process. However, the possibility of such artificial tampering cannot be ruled out entirely. This fascinating purple fluid inclusion is one of the strangest and most interesting the authors have examined.
