Catalog Search Guide
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Morion
Morion is the near-opaque, blackish-brown variety of smoky quartz, so dark it can appear almost jet black in hand and only reveals its true brown-black tone against strong light. The name descends from the ancient term mormorion, used by Pliny the Elder, later corrupted into "Morion" in German mineralogical tradition. Like other smoky quartz varieties, its coloration comes from natural irradiation acting on aluminum-bearing centers within the quartz lattice, formed over long geological time in granites and pegmatites.
The type locality for exceptional morion is the Volyn deposit in Khoroshiv (formerly Volodarsk-Volynski), Ukraine, where giant chamber pegmatites have produced morion crystals reportedly exceeding 1,000 kg alongside gem topaz and beryl, often with dramatic zoning from clear rock crystal or citrine cores to morion rims. In the United States, the Pikes Peak region of Colorado — especially Crystal Peak and Devils Head — is famous for deep black, gemmy morion crystals combined with blue-green amazonite, a pairing prized by collectors worldwide. Classic morion has also long been reported from Alpine cleft occurrences and the Ural Mountains.
Collectors seek morion for its striking near-black luster, sharp crystal terminations, and the contrast it creates when paired with feldspar, topaz, or beryl on the same matrix. Because true morion is naturally colored rather than artificially irradiated like much commercial "black quartz," well-documented specimens from classic localities carry particular value for serious mineral collections.
