In literature quartz is often used as a color descriptor that evokes a sense of purity and luminosity. Writers describe surfaces and natural formations as being “of white quartz,” imbuing them with a crystalline clarity and ethereal quality, as seen when veins of white quartz are interwoven with earthy rock [1], when vast sheets of white quartz sand give rise to striking sandstone formations [2], and when a great lump of white quartz lies by a rushing stream [3]. In another example, the eyes of a character are set in an orb of opaque white quartz, emphasizing both mystery and stark clarity [4]. Even variations like rose-quartz appear, lending a warm, gentle hue to architectural features [5]. This spectrum of uses demonstrates how quartz, beyond its mineral value, serves as a rich literary motif for describing light, texture, and color.
- "The rock of the Col de Balme," he said, "is a brown, ligneous slate, with some veins of white quartz intersecting it: the appearance is very curious.
— from Famous Men of Science by Sarah Knowles Bolton
- A sheet of white quartz sand filled the late Yeso seas; the resulting Glorieta Sandstone, about 200 feet thick, prominently caps Glorieta Mesa.
— from Mosaic of New Mexico's Scenery, Rocks, and History
- The stone was a great lump of white quartz, and it lay at the edge of the rapid stream.
— from In Quest of Gold; Or, Under the Whanga Falls by Alfred St. Johnston
- The eyes consist of an iris of rock crystal, surmounting a metal pupil, and set in an eyeball of opaque white quartz.
— from The Bases of Design by Walter Crane
- Through small square panes of rose-quartz the citizens looked from their houses.
— from The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany