Aqua aura is a natural crystal that has been coated with gold fumes. It is created in a vacuum chamber from quartz crystals and gold vapor by a process known as vapour deposition. The quartz is heated to 871 °C (1600 °F) in a vacuum, and then gold vapor is added to the chamber. The gold atoms fuse to the crystal's surface, which gives the crystal an iridescent metallic sheen. The process was awarded the United States Patent No. 6997014 on 14 February 2006.
When viewed under a gemological microscope in diffused direct transmitted light, Aqua Aura displays the following properties:
- A coppery surface iridescence in tangential illumination
- Diffused dark outlines of some facet junctions
- A patchy blue colour distribution on some facets
- White facet junctions, irregular white abrasions and surface pits, where the treatment either did not "take" or had been abraded away.
Additional elements can be used to treat quartz, such as indium, titanium, and copper. The coloring of this treatment is only on the surface, so all faceted and polished material you find has been treated after it has been made originally. Often, quartz of lesser quality, with fractures and weak spots, will break apart during the coating process.
Read more about Aqua Aura: Flame Aura
Famous quotes containing the word aura:
“It was when “reporters” became “journalists” and when “objectivity” gave way to “searching for truth,” that an aura of distrust and fear arose around the New Journalist.”
—Georgie Anne Geyer (b. 1935)