Quartz is a type of artificial, engineered stone that is made from crushing the natural mineral quartz and combining with pigments for color and cement mix or polymer resin for adhesiveness. The mixture is then pressed into a slab under high heat, vacuumed, and cut to size for use as countertops, flooring, and other interior applications. While high heat results in a hard surface that is more cost-efficient than natural stone, the pigments and adhesive results in a nonporous surface that repels moisture and microbes from growing without sealing. Quartz engineered stones are available in a wide variety of appearances and colors, depending on the pigments and adhesives as well as the consistency of the ground quartz. Coarsely ground quartz looks more like granite with flecks of color throughout, while finely ground quartz produces a smooth appearance. Common examples of quartz are amethyst, ametrine, agate, carnelian, jasper, milky quartz, onyx, rose quartz, smoky quartz, and tiger’s eye.
