Uncovering More Crystal Fakes: Amber, Rainbow Calsilica and Irradiated Crystals

So today I bring to you another post about the crystal fakes + frauds out there in Crystal-land. After the last post on the subject, I got lots of questions about others so here are a few more popular ones for you to be aware of.

Amber/Copal Crystal Fakes

Amber (not technically a mineral or crystal since it has organic origins) is supposed to be super-duper expensive, right? So why all this cheap stuff on the market?

Well, that cheap stuff is most likely plastic (ick!!) or copal, pronounced “coh-PAHL”. Copal is often sold as “amber”, but it’s not. Although it is very similar, it’s not amber. Here’s why:

  • Amber is the fossilized (40-60 million years old) hardened resin from a now extinct pine tree.
  • Copal, on the other hand, is hardened immature recent resin (only 1000 – 1 million years old). Copal is technically almost the same thing, just not as old & the names are often used interchangeably.

BUT, “almost” is not the same and the slight variation makes a huge difference in price! A reputable seller will make sure to note that copal is not true amber.

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