Rose Quartz

"Isn't it remarkable, Steven? This world is full of so many possibilities. Each living thing has an entirely unique experience. The sights they see, the sounds they hear. The lives they live are so complicated... a-and so simple. I can't wait for you to join them."

- Rose Quartz Rose Quartz is the mother of Steven and the founder and former leader of the Crystal Gems. According to Greg, she has given her physical form up in order to give birth to Steven, while passing her gem onto Steven as well. Rose's appearence dominates the fusion Gem carved into the Crystal Temple.

Appearance
Rose Quartz had very long, shiny, curly pink hair in thick ringlets past her hips, pink lips, a heavier build than the other Crystal Gems, and has light pinkish skin. She is taller than Greg Universe. Rose wore a strapless, floor-touching tiered white dress with a star-shaped cutout in the stomach area. In "Together Breakfast", her portrait revealed that Rose had a rose quartz gem on her midriff, much like her son, Steven Quartz Universe. In "Lion 3: Straight to Video", she is shown to have had black eyes.

Personality
Rose Quartz is implied to have a caring and loving personality and love every Gem no matter how evil, according to the Crystal Gems. In "An Indirect Kiss", she was said to be very empathic when her loved ones were hurt. She had seen beauty in everything "no matter how gross", showing that she treated everyone as an equal. She had good morals since she didn't take her powers for granted, instead using them to heal injured Gems.

Abilities
All Gems have the ability to summon a weapon, shapeshift, fuse with other Gems, and retreat into their gemstone after becoming injured to heal. Rose had the power to produce tears that could heal broken gems and heal other creatures of their injuries. She also had the power to grow sentient flora to assist her, particularly being her guardians. It is implied she could summon a sword via the pocket dimension in Lion's mane. Because of her peaceful nature, however, the weapon would have only been used as a last resort.

Legacy
Statues of Rose can occasionally be found in Gem ruins, indicating she was looked upon favorably by Gemkind before their disappearance. The Crystal Gems also hold her in high regard, and Greg misses her often. While pregnant with Steven, she made a video posthumously expressing her love for him.

In a period 6,000 years to 5,000 years prior to the series, members of the Gem Homeworld were exploiting Earth for their own purposes with no regard for the life already there. Rose Quartz, appaled with the lack of respect the Homeworld had for life on Earth, lead the Crystal Gems in a war of rebellion against the Homeworld and won. There was no contact between Earth and the Gem Homeworld for 5,000 years afterwards, until the events of "Warp Tour".

Steven Universe
Steven Universe is the son of Rose Quartz. Rose gave up her physical form to bring Steven into the world while in a romantic relationship with Greg Universe (Steven's father). Steven doesn't seem to know much about his mother apart from what the members of the Crystal Gems and his father have told him, and as a result of this, he doesn't know what to think about her sometimes. However, insulting her is one of the few things that angers Steven greatly, so he does think highly of her too.

Members of the Crystal Gems
Rose Quartz was previously the leader of the Crystal Gems before she brought Steven into existence. The group seems to hold her in high esteem. Amethyst is quoted as saying "If Rose were here, this would be so easy" in the episode Laser Light Cannon. The members of the group seem to mourn her passing, but even though she gave up her existence to bring Steven into the world, they do not blame it on him and live with him in the temple. Amethyst has shown to have been greatly jealous when Rose turned her attention to Greg and away from the Crystal Gems. Pearl thought very highly if Rose, was her sole confident, and had a breakdown upon realizing that there were things that Rose kept hidden even from her.

Greg Universe
Greg Universe was the romantic partner of Rose Quartz until she brought Steven into the world. Greg and Rose seemed to have had a very good relationship, but most of what we know is from Greg's point of view. He said that the two of them met at one of his one-man band concerts in Beach City, where she was the only attendee. He also said that they became inseparable, yet he had no idea "what a magical lady like her ever saw in a plain old dope like him." In the episode "Lars and the Cool Kids," it is revealed that Rose saw beauty in everything, referring back to the episode "Laser Light Cannon," when Greg Universe wondered what someone like her ever saw in a "plain old dope" like him." It is a reflection on her feelings for Greg to note that Rose used his catchphrase as the activation words of her Light Cannon.

Trivia

 * In gem stone mythos, rose quartzes are stones associated with love and health.
 * Rose Quartz was the first Gem to have a last name, due to her gem's name being two words. The second was Lapis Lazuli.
 * She felt real love for those around her and real sorrow when they were hurt.
 * She had tears that could heal other gems.
 * Susan Egan voiced Rose Quartz in "Lion 3: Straight to Video" and "Story for Steven".
 * Greg and Rose's backstory was elabortated further in "Story for Steven".
 * In the episode "Laser Light Cannon", the light that came out of the cannon resembled her.