Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got!

The subject of FAKE CRYSTALS.  The market is saturated with crystal jewellery and rocks, unfortunately with this come the fakes.  If you knowingly have fake crystals and jewellery and they’re working well for you, please don’t stop.  The only issue I have is when people are scammed into believing that something is something when it’s not.  Keeping in mind that sellers are sometimes not purposefully looking to fool anyone, sometimes we ourselves are fooled.  It’s important to ask questions –
ask the seller where the item comes from and do your own research.  If I’m not sure of a crystal’s authenticity, I will let you know in the description of my items. 

The most common “faked” crystal out there is Lapis Lazuli. Lapis should be a rich, royal blue colour.  If it appears to be darker, I
would rather not chance it and not buy. Another thing about Lapis are the Pyrite (golden) flecks that appear through it, if I can’t see these in the Lapis then again, I don’t even bother buying it.  How is Lapis Lazuli faked?  Howlite or Sodalite is sometimes dyed to try and get to the royal blue colour of Lapis

Tips for spotting fake Lapis Lazuli:

Cheap price is usually your first clue – for a standard 8mm round bead bracelet – if the seller is asking anything less than R300 – I just would not chance it. 

Rub nail polish remover with cotton wool on the bead or stone, if the colour comes off – it’s fake!  I have firsthand experience of this!

If the colour is very uniform

Lapis can be confused with Sodalite but should have much less white, if you see too much white (or grey) on the Lapis, then pass

Malachite is another stone that is often faked.  Again, cheap price is your clue here, less than R300 for a standard 8mm round bead bracelet – no thanks, I’ll pass!

Malachite has swirls and rings, if these appear too uniform or straight, then it could be fake.

Weight – Malachite has a high copper content so should feel heavier than other crystal bracelets or stones.  The same goes for Black Tourmaline – the first clue for me is the weightiness of these stones.

Lemurian Quartz – crystal points with striations or lines.  Please note, these are usually long crystal points and are only found in Brazil, Columbia or Arkansas (USA) and are very expensive!  R50 for a 3cm clear quartz point with lines on it is NOT a Lemurian Quartz!  Ask – where was it found?  Where did the seller get it from?

 Herkimer diamonds – Again, only found in one place – Herkimer Mine - New York, USA.  Also, pricey. 
 

Beware the trade name! 

Often a distinguished quartz or stone is named after the location of where it is found, so in the case of Herkimer Diamond its only found in the Herkimer Mine, NY.  Unfortunately, wholesalers will
often add to a name of a crystal or give it a different trade name to make it more marketable.  They will also knowingly, inaccurately describe the stone.  This does not often truly represent what the stone actually is. It can be hard to keep up with the sheer number of trade names these days and makes it confusing, I suggest do your research or ask me, I try to keep as informed as possible.  You can also rely on your own intuition.   

I could go on and on about this but the above seem to be the most common fakes lately.

Stay curious,