Rutile is titanium dioxide, the mineral that makes the golden needles in rutilated quartz. On its own it is a dark red-brown to black collector crystal, seldom cut for jewelry. We do not carry it. Clear quartz and golden tiger eye are the nearest we do.
Oxide
Rutile
Rutilo
- Palette
- Brown Red Black Yellow
- Mined in
- Sierra Leone, Spain, Switzerland, Madagascar
- Hardness
- Mohs 6.0–6.5 ?
- See-through
- opaque
- Known since
- 1803
- Named for
- Latin rutilus, meaning red
- Also sold as
- titanium dioxide, rutile needles
- Intention
- Calm Strength
- Looking for
- Focus and clarity Letting go Confidence and self-worth
- Water
- Fine with water and mild soap
- Dye or finish
- Rutile as a bead is almost always rutilated quartz; the golden rutilated quartz strands we read are sold natural.
Not in our pieces now
VENUS' HAIR STONE
Quartz threaded with golden needles of rutile is also called Venus' Hair Stone.
FLÈCHES D'AMOUR
Needles of rutile piercing quartz are called flèches d'amour, French for arrows of love, in Graubünden, Switzerland.
1948
Synthetic rutile was first made in 1948; titanium dioxide pigment, from rutile and related ores, is the biggest single use of titanium.
What it is
A shiny, deep red-brown to black mineral with a metallic to diamond-like luster, found as stubby crystals or fine needles. The golden threads in rutilated quartz are rutile. On its own it is a collector crystal, seldom cut for jewelry.
What gives it its color
In golden rutilated quartz the gold comes from needles of rutile (titanium oxide) inside clear quartz. Rutile itself runs from red-brown to black, black where iron and niobium or tantalum replace some of the titanium.
Where it comes from
Most rutilated quartz comes from Brazil (Minas Gerais and Bahia); rutile crystals also come from Madagascar, the Swiss Alps and Mozambique.
What's said about it
Crystal lore attaches to the quartz that holds it. In crystal lore today, rutilated quartz is kept for focus and for finding one's direction, and for letting emotions go.
One modern practice has you hold it before a mirror and say one thing you like about yourself, adding one more each week. People keep it in a pocket, in a desk drawer or in the hand.
How people wear or keep it: In a pocket, in a desk drawer, held in either hand, or in a meditation space.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, rutile is paired with the solar plexus and crown chakras, 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 a pocket, in a desk drawer, held in either hand. People reach for it when they want focus and clarity, letting go, confidence and self-worth, 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.
ChakraSolar Plexus, Crown
ZodiacGemini, Taurus
Also calledtitanium dioxide, rutile needles
Care
- Hard enough for careful wear (about Mohs 6 to 6.5), but a collector crystal can still chip on a hard knock.
- Wipe with a soft cloth and lukewarm water, then dry.
- Keep away from harsh chemicals.
- Store apart from harder stones such as quartz, sapphire and topaz so it does not scratch.
- Synthetic rutile is sold as a near-colorless diamond substitute called titania, so ask if a clear, bright stone is offered under the name.
How to tell what you have
- Rutile is a shiny deep red-brown to black titanium oxide, hardness about 6 to 6.5; the golden threads inside rutilated quartz are rutile. On its own it is a collector crystal.
- Glass with a gold-wire look or quartz with copper-colored flakes (aventurine-like) can imitate it; real rutile needles are straight, thin and cross each other inside clear quartz.
What sets the price
Price follows how many needles are in the quartz, their color and how evenly they sit, and how clear the quartz between them is; dense, bright golden needles in clear quartz cost more.
Questions people ask at our table
What is rutile?
Titanium dioxide, a common mineral in metamorphic and igneous rocks. It is the main ore of titanium and the mineral behind the golden needles in rutilated quartz.
Are the gold threads in quartz real gold?
No. They are rutile. They look golden but can also be copper-red, brown or black.
Is rutile used in jewelry?
Rarely on its own. It is relatively soft for a gem, so you mostly see it as the needles inside quartz. Tiny rutile needles also cause the star in star sapphires and star rubies.
Is a clear, bright rutile stone natural?
Probably not. Synthetic rutile is sold as titania, a near-colorless diamond look-alike. Natural rutile is dark red-brown to black.
Where does it come from?
Sierra Leone is a leading producer, Spain is the type locality, and the Swiss Alps and Madagascar are known for rutile in quartz.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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