Crystal Fakes and How to Spot Them

I think it’s high time for another installment of my Crystal Fakes Blog Posts. I have a few other common ones that I’ve seen popping up quite a bit that I reeeeeeeally want to discuss and get outta my system.crystal fakes

Please remember, no judgments from me if you choose to work with man-made crystals.  I, personally, choose not to, but I like to inform our Crystal Hottie Community about the geo-facts because I feel it’s very important that you know what you’re getting & that you not be fooled in any way.

I feel it’s super-important that you KNOW, geologically, exactly what you’re working with.

OK, so let’s go…

Bismuth

"Bismuth Crystal". Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bismuth_Crystal.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Bismuth_Crystal.jpg “Bismuth Crystal”. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bismuth_Crystal.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Bismuth_Crystal.jpg

I’ve been seeing these guys in new age shops & being sold online & peeps just falling all over themselves over these iridescent bismuth crystals, thinking they’re natural. Not when they look like this. Nope. Sorry to burst that pretty bubble, but rainbow-colored crystallized Bismuth like that DOES NOT occur … Read More

2021-02-09T10:58:07-05:0038 Comments

Don’t Be Fooled By the Rocks that I Got!…More Crystal Fakes

Ahhh, I get some sort of wacko geo-geek-high from writing these particular blog posts on “fake crystals” in my Fakes Series! Thanks for letting me indulge myself once again. You can catch my previous posts in this series here:

I chose today’s featured fakes b/c these seem to be showing up quite often at the gem shows & in my student forums or in our various Hibiscus Moon Private Facebook Groups. I feel it’s most definitely my duty to keep our community informed on this schist.

Now, if you choose to work with man-made crystals that’s totally fine. No judgements from me on that. I, personally, choose not to.

But, I do think its very important that you know what you’re getting & that you not be fooled & that you KNOW geologically exactly what you’re working with.

BTW, sometimes sellers aren’t looking to purposefully fool anyone…sometimes they themselves have no idea.

So let’s get to it!

Charoite

fake crystals High grade authentic charoite from Russia on the … Read More

2022-12-22T15:22:07-05:0036 Comments

How to Pick Out Crystal Fakes: Part 5

So this crystal fakes stuffs is getting to be a popular series here on my blog.

And I’m quite enjoying my role in revealing & educating on the gemmy fakes & frauds that have crossed my path.
You can check out the other parts here:

Before I get into the fakes & confusers I want to draw attention to in this blog post, there’s a little sumn’ sumn’ I wanna to discuss.

My aim here is NOT to completely remove the romanticism of stones & crystals. You know I’m all about the sparkly, glittery & spiritual side of them! Who do you know that sings their praises more than me?

But it may be time for a wee dose of reality when it comes to realizing that they may not arrive 100% unaltered in our hungry little hands. I’ve already discussed my stance on the ethics of mining crystals and stones here…different topic.

All righty…let’s get into it.

After stones are removed from Mother Earth, they’re usually given … Read More

2020-09-17T18:14:09-04:001 Comment

Is Your Citrine Real or Fake Citrine + Does it Matter?

Crystals are remarkable and glorious gifts from Mother Earth. Aren’t they? Well, what does fake citrine have to do with all of this?

And we all love citrine. Right? But do you know if your citrine is real or fake citrine…

and should you care?

Some crystal peeps prefer their crystals to be all-natural; as they were found in Mother Nature, in the raw.

citrine real fake, fake citrineOthers may be drawn to the beauty of crystals that have been enhanced in some way but they may be totally unaware that they have been artificially altered. Maybe the crystals have been molecularly bonded, irradiated, tumbled, cut, polished, or even heat-treated in a lab. Now, I’m saying “lab” in this post for ease & flow but often times the heating we’re talking about here isn’t done in a lab at all. It’s usually done in a dusty warehouse by the miners themselves; no lab coats or anything. Just keepin’ it real for ya. 😉

Lab-heated citrine seems to be a sore spot with many. So much so that over the years as I received many questions about it I’ve created a few … Read More

2022-12-22T15:27:35-05:0083 Comments
Go to Top