- Chalcedony
-
A subset of quartz. Chalcedony refers to cryptocrystalline quartz, that is, quartz whose crystals are too small to be seen, and includes agate, bloodstone, carnelian, chrysoprase, jasper, and onyx. This can be contrasted with macrocrystalline quartz such as amethyst, citrine, clear quartz, rose quartz, smoky quartz, and tiger’s eye. Here’s a thorough explanation.
I recently bought at a local store what the lady had marked as blue quartz but I can not find it on here. Your website is where I get all my information, I’m extreme beginner so I’m still learning. Is the chalcedony the same as blue quartz?
Not exactly. All chalcedony is quartz, but not all quartz is chalcedony. So if you have some blue quartz, it may or may not be chalcedony. Quartz is a very broad family and abundant in nature, and a lot of these names are trade names for various types of quartz. The main difference with chalcedony is the size of the crystals, but you can’t tell that just by looking at it. I know, it’s very confusing!