Rutile

Rutile: mineral with the chemical formula TiO2 (Titanium Dioxide). Ranges from transparent to opaque, with a luster from adamantine to metallic and colors from yellow to brown, as well as colorless, red, and black. It crystallizes in the Tetragonal System and appears in elongated prismatic or acicular crystals, often twinned or poly-twinned. Aggregates are granular and opaque. Found in various types of rocks.

(Photo: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0/Wikimedia Commons, License CC BY-SA 3.0)

back to the gemological glossary