Topic summary
Chalcedony
Chalcedony is an aggregate of cryptocrystalline or microcrystalline silica, or in simpler terms, a mass of individual silica crystals that are too small to be seen without magnification. It is composed primarily of quartz, with minor amounts of intergrown moganite. These are both silica minerals with a chemical composition of SiO2, but they differ in that quartz has a more symmetrical crystal structure (trigonal) than moganite (monoclinic). Mineralogically speaking, the quartz and moganite crystals in chalcedony must grow in parallel chains, called "fibers." However, the term chalcedony may more broadly refer to any microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline silica, fibrous or not.
Chalcedony has a waxy luster, and may be semitransparent or translucent. It can assume a wide range of colors, but those most commonly seen are white to gray, grayish-blue or a shade of brown ranging from pale to nearly black. The color of chalcedony sold commercially is often enhanced by dyeing or heating.