Fleches d’amour or Cupid’s Darts

“Venus hairstone”, needlestone, “Fleches d’amour” translated Cupid’s Darts, or Sagenitic quartz are all accepted names for the above gemstone. The common name, in the USA however, is rutilated quartz.

A rutilated quartz is a gemstone with golden needle crystals trapped within the primary gem. The above pictured oval gem is copper rutilated. The pinkish streaks seen are veins of copper enclosed in white quartz. This stone hasn’t had any special treatments to bring out its beauty aside from the the typical cut and polish. The straight lines of copper were intriguing.

Rutilation in gems most often looks like a handful of straw or pine needles dropped from a great height. The needling is random in length and direction. The copper forms straight and continuous streaks that run edge to edge creating a rare gem find.

We purchased the oval and two round gems. We plan on creating a custom mounting in rose gold for the oval. Will it be a ring, necklace or a bracelet? Stop by the store and find out.