Just realized I was totally wrong about identifying calcite vs quartz for the first 6 months of my mineral collecting

I used to just go by color and shine, but a geology student at the Tucson Gem Show told me to always do a scratch test with a steel nail. Anyone have a better field test they use when they're out hunting?

2 comments

2 Comments

noah_walker1611d ago

Welcome to the club (I spent a solid year just calling everything "shiny rock"). The acid test is a fun party trick if you carry vinegar.

jessicad9811d ago

Oh man, the vinegar trick is a classic! I started carrying a little dropper bottle of white vinegar in my bag, and it's wild how many "maybe" quartz or calcite specimens you can sort out at a flea market. Just a tiny drop fizzing tells you so much.