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.

… Read More

2021-02-09T10:58:59-05:0022 Comments

Spotting Crystal Fakes & Frauds: Part 1

Hey Crystal Peeps!  I get a lot of questions about this topic & have been working on a loooong article on this topic for a loooong time…it just keeps getting longer. A little bit ago I posted some of this in a newsletter about 6 months ago (you can subscribe up there on the right side of my banner!) I figured I need to get a bit more of this out there now  & perhaps 1 day it will mature into a grown-up full-fledged article! Yay!

So, is the crystal you purchased natural, enhanced or an all-out fake?

The only way to know for sure is with exhaustive lab tests, however, you can still use your mad-crystal-skills & a little geology to make a strong educated guess. I see lots of misinformed YouTube vids on some of these & just want to set the record straight so you can make wise & informed decisions when making your crystal purchases, My Sweets!

Glass vs. Quartz

Glass is an amorphous solid. Oooooo, BIG SEXY SCIENTIFIC WORD! Amorphous just means that due to quick cooling, the molecules didn’t have time to arrange themselves in a crystalline repeating geometric pattern.

Quartz, on other hand, cooled slowly & … Read More

2021-02-09T10:59:29-05:00143 Comments
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