Crystals are a very large part of the practices of many witches and spiritual people alike. They are alluring, beautiful, and have metaphysical properties and energies that can aid a witch in their spells. Naturally formed through many methods, these minerals tend to find wonderful homes with people who enjoy their appearance and their assistance.
We have had several posts about real or fake crystals here in the forum. This inspired me to gather some information about fake crystals, methods for determining their authenticity, and some commonly faked crystals! Buckle up, friends, because this is a long one!
What’s in this post?
→ What Makes Crystals Fake?
→ Commonly Faked Crystals
→ Identifying Fake Crystals
So, what makes a crystal fake?
Most everyone can agree on several things that make a crystal fake. To be specific here, I want to talk about crystals that are being sold as something else and crystals that aren’t really crystals at all. It comes as no surprise that people looking to make money, or people who don’t know any better, are selling inauthentic crystals.
In 2023, it was estimated by Transparent Market Research that the crystal industry was worth more than $4.4 billion – you can see why so many people want to dip their fingers into the money that can be had by selling crystals! Unfortunately, this also brings out bad actors and people who have no problem taking advantage of the average consumer.
To help you make better sense of authentic crystals, here are some ways crystals are often faked.
Heat Treated Crystals
Many crystals will change color when exposed to heat. This is one reason that it is advised to keep some crystals out of direct sunlight for too long. The heat from the sun and the radiation from prolonged exposure usually have an effect on the structure of the atoms in the crystal.
An amethyst cluster that has been treated in several different ways including UV and heat.
[Image from MinDat.org]
Common crystals that change color when exposed to heat are amethyst, aquamarine, quartz, and carnelian. The fact that these crystals change their color when exposed to heat makes them easy to heat up and pass off as something else.
Resin-Created Crystals
Resin is a type of liquid that can be cured into a solid object. This liquid is colored and poured into molds to give it a specific shape. Some crystals have specific banding and inclusions that can be faked with colorful inclusions in the resin process. A very pointed difference between resin-created crystals and authentic crystals is that resin is usually very light compared to the weight of other crystals. So, if the crystal feels too light in your hand it may be resin instead of a crystal. One common crystal that is faked with resin is malachite.
Smelting
An odd word to associate with crystals, but smelting can be used to create new crystals or enhance existing ones. In regard to crystals, smelting is the process of melting down a crystal to create something new. This is usually done to quartz, but it is possible to do with other crystals. This is an intense process that requires heating the crystal to very high degrees and handling it very carefully!
Dyed Crystals
Yup, that’s another one! Crystals are often dyed to either change their color or enhance their natural colors. Dying crystals is one way to make crystals seem more alluring, but it can also affect the way a crystal is labeled and sold. Another reason for dying crystals is to make them appear more precious. After all, if you take two of the same crystals and dye one to make it more vibrant, you can sell the dyed one for much more money because it will be passed off as unique or rarer.
Man-Made Crystals
Crystals are created in a variety of environments, and most crystals can be created in a lab setting and are identical to nature-made crystals. Diamonds, for example, can be created in a lab for a fraction of the cost of nature-formed diamonds. The same goes for rubies and many other crystals! Some people believe crystals that were grown in a lab should not be considered authentic, whereas other people believe that the crystal is still a crystal no matter how it was formed.
This one is a bit more contentious and comes with some caveats. So, I will let you decide if you think man-made crystals are authentic or not.
Commonly Faked Crystals
Since many crystals can be faked, let’s look at some that you might find in your shopping.
Citrine: Heat-Treated Amethyst
A beautiful stone with a natural purple hue, amethyst is a variety of quartz that gets its color from a specific type of radiation. This is part of what makes it so easy for amethyst to change color because the iron inclusions in the amethyst are destroyed by heating, and the iron inclusions are what gives amethyst its purple color.
When heated, Amethyst can change to a pale purple, a gray, or even a yellow. When it is heated and turns yellow, then the amethyst is often sold as citrine. However, true citrine is rare and hardly as vibrant as heat-treated amethyst which appears yellow. One way you can tell the difference is that raw amethyst clusters usually have a white section on the bottom where the amethyst was mined from.
Aura Quartz: Dyed or Metallically Adjusted
Though it is a very beautiful stone, aura quartz is a common quartz that is created by giving the quartz stone a metallic coating. Then, this quartz is placed under extreme heat to give it the iridescent appearance of the usual aura quartz. Though it is generally true quartz, the only difference between quartz and aura quartz is the metallic coating added to it.
Malachite: Resin-Created Fake
Have you ever seen a malachite stone being sold for a very good price? Yeah, me, too! The problem is that malachite is a rare stone because of its location and method of creation. It is also a very heavy stone, and you can notice when you hold it that it has a good weight to it in your hand. You would be hard-pressed to find a raw piece of malachite, too, because of its chemical composition. It is very easy to break off and inhale, and it can lead to respiratory concerns if handled incorrectly.
Most people don’t know how heavy malachite is, so they easily fall for the resin-created malachite. Malachite is easy to “create” with resin because of the banding and colors used. However, when you look at the two next to each other, you can notice the differences in the banding. True malachite has uneven banding of darker colors against the green when it is polished. Resin banding tends to be more uniform because it’s more difficult to randomize the bands in creation, and the bands tend to be black rather than dark green.
Rhodochrosite: Resin-Created Fake
Another crystal that is easy to fake with resin is Rhodochrosite. True Rhodochrosite is typically rose-red but it can be different shades of pink and white. It is a soft mineral with a Mohs hardness scale of no more than 5. This means that if it is rubbed against glass, it will rub off. Like malachite, rhodochrosite has bands and inclusions. It will not contain bubbles or air pockets. Resin rhodochrosite, on the other hand, is treated just like malachite. The bands of true rhodochrosite will be random and depend on the inclusions. The bands in a resin fake will be less random and more uniform, and it may even have colors that do not naturally occur in true rhodochrosite.
Obsidian: Dark Glass
A dark stone, usually almost black, is often faked by coloring glass. It is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava cools rapidly with limited crystal growth. It is hard and brittle, so when it breaks it will fracture in harsh lines. Obsidian also has naturally occurring layers due to the way lava flows and cools. If you have a possible piece of obsidian, check for the naturally occurring bands that suggest lava flow. It is also possible for obsidian to have bubbles because of the way it was formed. If your obsidian has bubbles but no layers, it is likely glass or resin.
Image from Dragonfly Art and Soul - funnily enough, this is being sold as “synthetic blue obsidian” which is just a fancy way of calling it aqua glass.
Moldavite: Green Glass Fake
Moldavite has been hyped up and highly sought after! Many people claim that their moldavite changed their lives, upending them and making things worse just for them to turn around and get better. At its core, moldavite is a piece of glass, a tektite potentially created by an asteroid impact in Germany. It is often green or yellow in color. The fact that moldavite is a tektite makes it very easy to fake because all one needs to do is create some green glass. True moldavite will be very expensive because of its rarity and location. If your moldavite is on the cheaper end, it may likely be glass instead.
Tumbled Amethyst: Dyed Agate Fake
Amethyst is a stone that is highly sought after in jewelry-making. It is tumbled and turned into beads, then used for bracelets and other trinkets. Tumbled amethyst has naturally occurring differences in its appearance. It may contain purples, whites, and grays. It does not usually contain banding, nor is it always only purple.
Amethyst beads and tumbled amethyst are sometimes a type of agate that has been dyed purple. The difference is apparent when you look at the two next to each other. Purple agate will have banding and stripes because of the way agate is formed. Amethyst is much more random and does not form bands or stripes.
Identifying Fake Crystals
Now that you know some common methods for faking crystals, as well as some commonly faked crystals, we can look at methods to determine if your crystals are fake. Keep in mind that these methods aren’t foolproof and you may never truly know if your crystals are genuine on your own.
The Hardness Test
Anyone who has been around gems and minerals will know what the Mohs Hardness Scale is. If you are unfamiliar, it is a method of measuring the hardness of a mineral. If you have a piece of glass that you don’t care about, you can take your crystal or mineral and rub it against the glass. A crystal with a hardness of more than five will scratch glass. Anything less than a five will not scratch glass.
If you have a crystal that is supposed to be quartz or amethyst and rub it on glass, it should scratch it. If it doesn’t, then it is not quartz and is something else.
Looking At The Name
The healing crystal industry has a funny way of taking advantage of people and doing so through exotic-sounding names and properties. If your crystal has a strange name and is not identifiable through a reputable source, chances are it is being sold as something that it is not. For example, we have talked about something called Andara Crystal in the forum before. A geologist and witch named Kat Borealis covered this crystal because, contrary to what they would have you believe, it is nothing more than slag glass. So, if the name of your crystal can’t be found on a website such as MinDat.org, that is a red flag.
Learn What To Look For
Learning more about your crystals and their formation will help you determine what is authentic and what is not. You can look for bubbles, inclusions, color, and so much more. The importance is that you know what you are looking at. When doing this research, it is important to look at geological sources rather than metaphysical ones. You have to understand the physical object you’re looking at, of course! Once the crystal is identified, then you can look at metaphysical sources for information about the crystal.
Seek Professional Advice
You may never truly know on your own whether your crystal is fake. However, if you have the option, you can take your crystal or mineral to a professional! Someone who may be able to help identify minerals and crystals would be a jeweler for gems or a geologist for minerals and crystals. If you have a college in your area, they may have a geology department that might be willing to help you. It never hurts to give them a call and ask!
So, Is It Fake?
Authentic crystals only matter for two reasons. The first is if you think it matters. What you believe about crystals and how they work is important to you and your practice. If a lab-created crystal does not feel the same to you then it would obviously matter for you. The second reason authentic crystals matter is because you pay for them! If I am going to pay for something then I definitely want to make sure I’m getting exactly what I pay for.
I know a course on crystals has been mentioned before, though I’m not sure if there was ever a final decision in the back-end brainstorming process. I’ll check-in with the moderators and Francisco to see!
that and amber, of course. Thank you for the reminders!
I’m glad it’s helpful!