Origin of Scepter Quartz

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  • セプタークォーツの成因
  • セプター クォーツ ノ セイイン

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Abstract

Scepter quartz shows a well known and frequently encountered morphology that natural quartz crystals exhibit. It usually consists of hexagonal prismatic trunk and larger but shorter, hexagonal bipyramidal prismatic cap. Crystals with many caps on top and along edges of prismatic trunk, and so-called cathedral quartz also belong to the same category. Modes of occurrence of scepter quartz in a druse, morphology and surface microtopographs, as well as, crystal clarity, distribution of inclusions and perfection are compared between trunk and cap portions of scepter quartz of hydrothermal and pegmatitic origins. It is clarified that the surface of trunk portion is covered and masked due to precipitation of foreign minerals like clay and the growth of trunk portion was interrupted. Then purer hydrothermal solution was introduced from which cap portion of scepter quartz grew epitaxialy on the surface of trunk crystal. Epitaxial lateral overgrowth is concluded as the most reasonable mechanism for the formation of scepter quartz, including cathedral quartz. This conclusion is verified by a series of hydrothermal experiments, using masked seed crystal.

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