It is not easy to rationally explain why we love gemstones. There are some gemstones that, although beautiful, we love for reasons beyond their good looks. That is not to say that Optic Quartz is not stunning – it is. It’s just that, like a dog-eared copy of Wuthering Heights, it’s what’s inside that counts – it’s all about how it makes us feel.
So what is Optic Quartz?
Optic Quartz is a Clear Quartz (sometimes known as Rock Crystal) with exceptional clarity. This gives it a beautiful purity – like a droplet of water caught in a crystal. It also means that lapidarists value it above other gems. It is the perfect canvas to work on. But it isn’t just that. There is something more that draws the likes of Glenn Lehrer to this wonderful gem.
What makes Optic Quartz special?
Glenn Lehrer’s home is like a living museum. With extraordinary carvings and artefacts dotted in every corner, it is every gemstone lover’s dream. But one gem is represented in his carvings more than any other. Optic Quartz statuettes, cameos, wands and loose gemstones are part of his daily life. Most treasured of all, is the loose piece he was given as a teenager by his brother. This one piece changed the whole course of his life:
In a single moment, when my older brother Wayne handed me this cut and polished piece of optical ice white Quartz. It was literally a lightning bolt of explosive energy in my mind and body. Because of my brother’s simple act back then, when he placed that cut piece of optical Quartz in my hand, everything was set on a track with a lifetime of focus and manifestation.
Something beyond the ordinary
Clearly, this is a gem that can produce a strong emotional response. But why?
Some gemstones are piezoelectric. This means that they create an electrical charge which will oscillate ever so slightly when they are held in the hand. Quartz is one of these. A Quartz watch works on this principle. So clearly, there is something extraordinary going on. But exactly how this relates to how we feel when we hold it, will probably always be a mystery.
For Glenn, as with many people, the borderline between the mineral world and the organic world is very blurred. He sees a continuum between the gemstone and the human hand holding it, wearing it or cutting it on a wheel. These are gifts from Mother Nature and we are simply her custodians. If any stone is a reminder of humans and gemstones being one small part of something inexplicably larger, Optic Quartz is it.
