Cairngorm (mineral)

This article is about the crystal. See Cairn Gorm for the Scottish mountain. See Cairngorm (Flex framework) for the open source software.

Cairngorm is a variety of quartz crystal found in the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland. It usually has a smokey yellow-brown colour, though some specimens are a grey-brown.

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Like other quartz gems, it is a silicon dioxide crystal, with a small amount of ferric oxide impurity which gives it the characteristic colour.

It is used in Scottish jewellery and as a decoration on kilt pins and the handles of sgian dubhs (anglicised: skean dhu). The largest known cairngorm crystal is a 23.6 kg (52 pound) specimen kept at Braemar Castle.