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Rutile comes in a surprising contrast of distinct habits and colors, making it a very interesting mineral. It has multiple unique crystal forms as well as several telltale colors, styles, and associations. Rutile can range from mirror-like metallic-looking crystals, to dark reddish sub-metallic crystals, to bright golden-yellow needles. Even the opaque metallic-looking forms are somewhat translucent on edge under backlighting, with a dark red translucent tinge.

Rutile is well known for its habit of forming needle-like inclusions within other minerals, especially Quartz, in the form of long and slender yellow straw-like crystals. These inclusions can range from scattered needles to dense parallel fibers within a host mineral. This combination is known as Rutilated Quartz, and is used both as a collectors mineral and gemstone.

Rutile inclusions are also responsible for the asterism or chatoyancy effects on some gemstones, such as Star Sapphire. The thin, parallel Rutile fibers that formed within the host mineral provide these unique optical effects.

Rutile is the most common mineral composed of titanium dioxide. Rarer polymorphs include Brookite and Anatase, both which also form unique and distinctive crystals. The name Rutile is derived from the Latin "Rutilus", in reference to a common color habit of this mineral in dark red but lustrous crystals.