Quartz against glass, dyed agate, imitation turquoise and lapis, man-made goldstone — how to tell natural crystal from imitation.
Glass is the commonest substitute for crystal. The bubbles, swirls, birefringence, RI and hardness differences — and which you can check yourself.
Most turquoise beads are dyed howlite or magnesite; much real turquoise is stabilised. How a lab separates natural, treated, reconstituted and fake.
Tiger's eye is quartz with silky banded chatoyancy. How it is identified, what its blue and red forms are, and how fibre-optic glass fakes are caught.
Most 'selenite' sold is satin spar, the fibrous form of gypsum. How the two relate, how gypsum is identified, and why it dissolves in water.
Rose quartz is cheap but still imitated by pink glass and dyed material. How it is identified, why it is cloudy, and what star rose quartz is.
Obsidian is natural volcanic glass, so glass tests cannot separate it from man-made glass. The inclusions, flow banding and colours that do.
Moldavite is itself natural glass, which is why green glass imitates it well. The surface sculpture, lechatelierite and flow features that separate them.
Malachite's green banding is copied in resin and pressed powder. How genuine malachite is identified by weight, structure and UV, and how to care for it.
Lapis is a rock of lazurite, calcite and pyrite. How it is separated from dyed jasper, sodalite, reconstituted material and glass.
Goldstone is man-made glass with copper flakes, often sold as sunstone or aventurine. How it differs from the natural stones and how each is identified.
Most brightly coloured agate is dyed. How agate takes dye, the colours that never occur naturally, and how a laboratory detects the treatment.
Bead bracelets are the most substituted crystal purchase. How a lab tests a strung bracelet bead by bead, and the swaps found most often.
Sphatik malas, spheres and shivlings are the crystal articles most often replaced with glass. How a laboratory tests each form of clear quartz.
Most citrine on the market is heat-treated amethyst. How natural citrine and heated amethyst are told apart, and when the difference matters.
Black tourmaline is cheap but still substituted with black glass, obsidian and onyx. How its weight, double refraction and striations identify it.
Purple quartz is imitated by glass and grown synthetically in bulk. How a lab separates natural amethyst, synthetic amethyst and purple glass.
The laboratory examines Rudraksha, gemstones, malas, bracelets and crystals and issues a numbered, PIN-protected report you can verify online at any time.