Quartz Stone 

Quartz is in fact tougher than granite, and as a result, it is more long-lasting. In point of fact, quartz is quite resistant to damage, and unlike granite, it does not have pores, making it simple to maintain a somewhat sterile environment on the counters. Quartz may be destroyed by exposure to temperatures that are too high; thus, always use heating pads while working with quartz cookware. Quartz, on the other hand, is often less costly than granite, with prices ranging from $70 to $100 per square foot installed in comparison to granite's price range of $60 to $270 per square foot installed. However, the least priced granite is an exception to this rule.

Because of its transparency, the raw price of quartz is about $0.01 per carat, while its value as a gem ranges from $1 to $7 per carat. Pink, rose, and smokey quartz are all highly appreciated, although the price per carat may exceed $15. Most valuable are clear, well-formed quartz pieces with strong color saturation. It's possible that the value of the collection of quartz crystals is far more than you realize. On the other hand, it's possible that the collection doesn't have any value at all. Quartz in its natural state is not particularly precious; one carat of quartz will only fetch about one cent.

At temperatures below 573 °C (846 K; 1,063 °F), quartz belongs to the trigonal crystal system. Above this temperature, however, it belongs to the hexagonal crystal system. The perfect shape for a crystal would be a prism with six sides that tapered out into pyramids with six sides at either end. Quartz has been the subject of study since ancient times; the ancient Greeks referred to crystals with a transparent appearance as krystallos, which is where the word crystal, or more frequently rock crystal, comes from when referring to this type of quartz. In 1530, Georgius Agricola was the first person to use the name "quartz," which is an ancient German word of unknown provenance.