Rutile is the mineral name for natural crystals of titanium dioxide. Its thin, golden crystals are sometimes found in clear quartz, but are more notable for their affect on other hard precious and semi-precious gemstones such as star-sapphire and tiger-eye, where they bundle so tighty that they bend light into band and star patterns.

The name Rutile comes from the Latin rutilus, meaning red. If rutile is mined in its pure form, the jagged crystalline bundles are a reddish golden hue.

For detailed mineralogical information about rutile, visit galleries.com.

Close-ups of Rutilated Quartz beads on titanium earrings by MrTitanium