Hydrous defects in quartz contain important information regarding the origin and history of individual grains. This article summarises the findings from experimental work and analysis of natural material over the past 60 years, and results are interpreted with respect to igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary processes.

Grimmite, sulfide of cobalt and nickel, is the new mineral for the mineralogical system.

A Raman scattering study of authentic inscribed marble demonstrates that cracks formed during the engraving enhance the development of weathering-related products whose signals could be potentially used to improve the readability of an inscribed text affected by rock weathering. Comprehensive analyses of different marble inscriptions reveal the effect of the environmental conditions, inscription age, grain size, and letter colouring on the abundance and penetration depth of alteration products.

The OH overtone bands of kaolinite- and serpentine-group minerals observed in their near-infrared (NIR) spectra are widely used but their relation to stretching modes involving coupled OH groups is uncertain. Here, we map a molecular model of harmonically coupled anharmonic oscillators on the spectroscopic properties of 1:1 phyllosilicates. This makes it possible to interpret most of the observed bands and support the assignment of some of them to cationic substitutions in serpentines.

The reliquary crown, hosted in the diocesan museum of Namur (Belgium), was produced during the beginning of the 13th century. This beautiful piece of goldsmithery is decorated with approximately 400 pearls and coloured stones which were investigated by Raman and pXRF techniques. Emeralds, pink spinels, sapphires, almandine garnets, turquoises, and pearls were identified. The gemstones, contemporary with the crown, probably arrived in Europe by the silk trade road.

Volcanic activity in the West Eifel region of Germany over the past million years has brought many samples of the Earth's mantle and crust to the surface. The samples from this study are pieces of the deep crust that formed between 264 and 253 million years ago at a depth of ~ 30 km. Samples like these reveal how the Earth's crust has grown and been modified over time.