Faden quartz is ordinary clear quartz with a white thread running through it. The crack sealed itself as the crystal kept growing, so it is a growth form, not a different mineral.
Silicate (quartz) · Quartz (a growth form of clear quartz)
Faden Quartz
Cuarzo faden
- Palette
- Clear White
- Mined in
- Pakistan
- Hardness
- Mohs 7.0 ?
- See-through
- transparent
- Known since
- Prehistoric
- Named for
- the white thread-like line running through the crystal; German Faden means thread
- Also sold as
- faden crystal, thread quartz
- Intention
- Love Calm
- Looking for
- Relationships Communication Focus and clarity
- Water
- Fine with water and mild soap
- Dye or finish
- Faden quartz is natural quartz and is normally sold as it comes out of the ground; the white line is part of how the crystal grew. No dye or heat is described for it, so ask if a piece looks unusually bright.
Not in our pieces now
39,900 KG
The largest single quartz crystal on record, found near Itapore, Goias, Brazil, was about 6.1 meters long and weighed over 39,900 kilograms.
REPEATED CRACKS
Faden's white thread is a line of liquid and gas inclusions left where the crystal cracked and regrew again and again as its rock cavity widened.
60°
Nicolas Steno found that quartz's long prism faces always meet at 60 degrees, whatever the crystal's size.
What it is
Faden quartz is clear to milky quartz, usually flat-sided, with a white thread-like line running through it. The line marks where the crack sealed itself as the crystal kept growing. It is a growth form of ordinary quartz, not a different mineral.
What gives it its color
The crystal itself is clear quartz; the white thread is a crack that sealed over as the crystal kept growing, leaving a seam of tiny trapped fluid and gas bubbles that scatter light and look white.
Where it comes from
The benchmark faden quartz comes from northern Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, including the Shigar Valley), with the Alps, Afghanistan, Russia, Brazil and Arkansas also named.
In history
Ancient Greeks thought clear quartz was ice frozen so hard it would never thaw, and the idea lasted into the 1600s. Quartz turns up in Irish passage tombs such as Newgrange and Carrowmore, and in the second half of the 1500s a Milan workshop carved a rock crystal jug.
What's said about it
In crystal lore, faden quartz is the stone people place in a room to bring harmony among a group. It's also kept for focus and a clear head.
Faden is German for thread. Most pieces come from Balochistan in Pakistan.
People set one in the middle of a table or keep it on a desk.
How people wear or keep it: In the center of a table, on a desk, or on a shelf.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, faden quartz is paired with the crown chakra, so practitioners rest it there during meditation or lie down with it in place for a few quiet minutes. Day to day, the same tradition suggests keeping it close: in the center of a table, on a desk, on a shelf. People reach for it when they want relationships, communication, focus and clarity, and many set an intention when they put it on. Most practitioners cleanse a new stone first (running water only if the stone can take it, otherwise smoke or moonlight) and set it aside now and then to rest.
These are beliefs people have held and still hold about the stone, reported as such. Nothing here is a promise or a medical claim. We sell stones as jewelry, not for these effects.
Associations
The chakra and star sign this stone is usually matched with. These are popular traditions, not facts about the stone.
ChakraCrown
ElementEarth
Also calledfaden crystal, thread quartz
Care
- Quartz is hard, but the thread line is a weak spot: avoid knocks and sudden hot-to-cold changes.
- Rinse with plain water if needed and dry with a soft cloth.
- Store apart from other stones; tabular crystals have thin edges that chip.
- Be wary of pieces with a very sharp, uniform line, which can be artificial.
How to tell what you have
- The faden is a thin white line of tiny trapped fluid and gas inside clear quartz, usually in a flat crystal. A drawn, scratched or glued line sits on the surface and does not run inside the crystal.
Questions people ask at our table
What is the white line in faden quartz?
It is a thread of tiny inclusions where the crystal cracked while growing. The crack sealed itself as the crystal kept growing, leaving the white line.
Is faden quartz a different mineral?
No. It is clear quartz with that growth feature. The line mostly changes how clear it looks.
Where does it come from?
Most pieces on the market come from Balochistan, Pakistan, where it grows in fissures in the host rock.
Do you carry faden quartz?
No, we do not carry it. Clear quartz is in our pieces and is the same mineral.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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