Sphatik is the Sanskrit name for clear quartz — rock crystal — and in Indian tradition it is worn as malas, kept as spheres and shivlings, and used in ritual articles. Because it is colourless and transparent, it is the crystal most easily and most often replaced with glass, and the price difference between a quartz mala and a glass one is enough to make the substitution routine. Every form of sphatik has its own testing approach.
What sphatik is
Colourless quartz. RI 1.544–1.553, SG 2.65, hardness 7, doubly refractive, inert under UV, cold to the touch, and — in natural material — showing angular inclusions, fingerprints, veils, growth zoning and occasionally needle inclusions. The full quartz-versus-glass comparison is in Quartz vs glass: how to tell real crystal from imitation.
Testing a sphatik mala
A mala of 108 small beads cannot be put on a refractometer bead by bead, and does not need to be.
Visual sweep. Every bead under low magnification for round bubbles, mould seams, identical repeating inclusions and glassy drill-hole rims. Glass malas usually fail on the first few beads.
Sample RI. Beads with a small flat or a suitable polished surface can give a distant-vision RI reading; a few beads are tested.
Polariscope. Individual beads held between crossed polarisers show the four-fold blinking of quartz or the strain pattern of glass. Quick and decisive per bead.
Weight. The whole mala is weighed and compared with the calculated weight for quartz beads of the measured diameter; glass (SG about 2.5) and plastic (about 1.2) give figures well off.
Sample beads for SG where a bead can be removed.
Report. Material identification (natural quartz / glass / plastic), bead count, size, weight, and a note on which beads were instrumentally tested.
Testing a sphere
A quartz sphere is a gift to the examiner: placed between crossed polarisers, it shows a distinctive bull's-eye interference figure that identifies quartz outright, and its weight against its measured diameter gives an immediate density check (a 60 mm quartz sphere weighs about 300 g; glass of the same size is lighter, lead glass heavier). Magnification looks for bubbles versus natural inclusions. A sphere read in this way is settled in minutes.
Note that a quartz sphere can be natural or synthetic quartz. Large colourless synthetic quartz is grown for industry and is occasionally cut into spheres; distinguishing it from natural rests on growth zoning and inclusions and can be difficult in very clean material. The report should say when the natural/synthetic question could not be resolved.
Testing a shivling or carved piece
Carvings have no flat facet, so SG is the primary test, supported by the polariscope (a thick piece shows double refraction), magnification and the cold-touch impression. Reconstituted quartz — quartz powder fused into glass — tests as glass and is reported as such.
Testing pendants and points
Points and pendants often have a flat face suitable for the refractometer, which settles the question; the polariscope and microscope confirm. Natural points show growth features and typically a slightly irregular termination; moulded glass points may show a seam.
Common substitutes
Glass (all forms); plastic and acrylic (light, warm, scratches easily); reconstituted quartz glass; leaded crystal glass (heavy, bright, singly refractive). Synthetic quartz, which is quartz, is a separate matter of disclosure.
Frequently asked questions
My sphatik mala feels cold. Is it genuine?
Cold touch is consistent with quartz and inconsistent with plastic; glass is intermediate. It is a hint, not a test.
Can a mala be part quartz and part glass?
It can, though it is uncommon. The visual sweep of every bead catches it.
Does natural sphatik have inclusions?
Usually some — fine veils, fingerprints, tiny crystals. A completely flawless mala is either fine natural quartz, synthetic quartz, or glass, and testing decides which.
Is synthetic sphatik acceptable?
It is quartz. Whether it satisfies a tradition is for the buyer. A seller should disclose it; a laboratory reports it where determinable.
How much does testing a mala cost relative to its price?
A visual and sample-instrument examination of a mala is quick and inexpensive; for a valuable mala it is small insurance.