One of the most striking, yet least diagnostic, features of many minerals is their color. Well-formed mineral crystals span the entire rainbow of tinctures, from red (cinnabar, garnet) to yellow (sulfur), green (malachite), blue (azurite, lazurite), and violet (the amethyst variety of quartz). Minerals containing iron and magnesium are often dark brown or dark green. Impurities, trace amounts of elements that do not normally belong in the mineral, may change the overall color of a crystal. For instance, depending on the trace amounts of impurities it contains, quartz may look colorless (no impurities), light pink (titanium, iron, or manganese), milky white (tiny bubbles of gas or liquid), purple (iron), yellow (iron), or brown (extra silicon). However, multiple minerals may have almost the same color, so scientists must rely on other physical properties to make definite identifications of mineral specimens.

Since antiquity, humans have made pottery from clay, which consists of fine particles of silicate minerals. Kaolinite is an aluminum silicate mineral, and it is the main component of porcelain, a particularly hard type of ceramic. Clay, which is used to make other types of pottery, may contain silica and grains from sedimentary rocks. Quartz, also referred to as silica or silicon dioxide, is a key component of another important solid material: glass. In the ancient Middle East, humans made glass by heating silica with alkali that was made from the ashes of plants. Other minerals such as calcium, lead, calcium, and manganese were added to improve the glass. Metals and metallic oxides were also added to color the glass or to make it clear, since natural glass tends to be slightly colored from impurities in the sand. Ruby red is made from powdered gold, while an orangey-red is produced by copper oxides. If the glass with copper oxide is heated too much, it will turn green. Cobalt and iron can make blue glass, and manganese is used for purple. Antimony or manganese oxide will produce clear glass. Glass for specialized purposes, like cookware and optical instruments, may require additives, such as boron oxide or lead oxide.