Are there “fake” crystals?
Unfortunately, YES. And it’s a big, complicated yes.
There are a couple different categories that fall into this:
1. Straight up non-crystal, aka man-made or something not formed naturally by the earth.
There are lots of stones marketed as “natural crystals” that are man-made or have been grown in a lab. It’s really important to be very careful and do your research on both the type of crystal you’re interested in and the seller you’re considering.
Opalite, Goldstone, Aqua/Green/Red Obsidian – These are all made from glass.
Colorful Bismuth with crystal structure – Grown in a laboratory, real Bismuth is usually grey.. not at all like the geometric ones that are man-made and commonly sold as “natural”
Green Quartz (usually marketed in China), Titanium Phantom Quartz, Cubic Zirconia clusters on a matrix, etc. – lab grown
Chalcanthite (the really neon blue kind), etc. – Chalcanthite does occur in nature but looks VERY different, these neon crystals are lab grown
There are also varying schools of thought on this. Some people believe that even though these crystals are man-made in a laboratory, they still possess healing properties. Kind of something you have to decide for yourself.
2. Mis-represented crystals
This is a biggie, too. Some crystals are hard to tell apart if you don’t know what you’re looking for such as Lapis Lazuli and Sodalite. But some are purposely sold under false premises.
Glass sold as Quartz – This is a HUGE problem in the crystal world, and super common. These are most commonly present in for form of polished wands, pyramids, points, etc. Basically, people take quartz and melt it down to make it easier to cut into marketable shapes/shapes that look like natural quartz. Sometimes it’s called “Smelt,” sometimes they try to pass it off as natural. Sellers of this type of quartz will even try to put imperfections and fractures into the glass to make it appear the same as natural quartz.
Polished Quartz is not a natural point. It is POLISHED into the shape it’s in.
Price (you get what you pay for)
Bubbles mean glass as well as sharp, sharp edges (polished/cut/fake points)
Real Quartz is slightly lighter than glass, has duller edges and points, and is cool to the touch
Chinese Fluorite being passed for Charoite
Serpentine/Green Quartz being sold as Jade
Marketing names for common crystals:
Azeztulite– trademarked name for B-C grade quartz with different impurities
Buddstone–actually Verdite
Green Quartz/Serpentine being called Jade
There are SOOO many of these, too many to list here!
Choose sellers you trust! Ones that know a lot about crystals!
Different crystals are found in different areas of the world– asking which countries/regions/mines they come from and then checking your facts is a good way to make sure!
Another biggie. Crystals can be manipulated to create sought-after characteristics. As mentioned above, there are different schools of thought on this. Some people think that this manipulation doesn’t affect the healing properties or constitution of the crystals. Some people think it does. You have to decide for yourself.
Colored Quartz (red, blue, green)
Crazy neon colors of Agates (pinks, blues, greens, etc)
Turquoise– people dye Howlite or Magnesite ALL the time to imitate this stone!
Aura Quartz such as Aqua Aura, Angel Aura, etc. – These are formed when Quartz points or clusters are heated REALLY hot and bonded with metal vapor. The different metals bond permanently to the surface of the quartz. NOTE: This is a touchy one. Many people believe that these bonded metals give the Quartz new, unique properties. Others think it destroys the natural crystal.
Citrine – much of the Citrine on the market today is artificially created.
Real, natural Citrine is formed when Amethyst or Smokey Quartz is heated deep within the earth. It’s very rare, and pretty expensive.
Artificially (after it’s been unearthed) heated Citrine is much more common, cheap to make, and all over the place.
Irradiated Crystals – The earth produces radiation. This is how certain crystals such as Smokey Quartz get their lovely, awesome coloration. The thing about this is that it’s over millions of years and very slowly and in small amounts. In all actuality, if you take a regular Quartz cluster and zap it with Gamma Ray Radiation… Guess what? It turns a deep, dark black color. Crystals that have been man-made like this with radiation are called Irradiated Crystals and then passed as the real thing.. Some common ones are:
Very deep red/pink Tourmaline
SO… I know it’s a lot. And it’s pretty intimidating. And in all honesty it kind of really makes me a bit angry that so many people do these kinds of things :-(
My best advice is to do you research. Learn as much as you can about the crystal specimens you are looking to purchase. Find sellers you trust. Buy crystals from knowledgeable people! Go rockhounding and look for your own!
I hope this shed some light on some commonly encountered scams/problems/questions!
izzy806
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