How To Spot Fake Crystals.

In this section I will give you some tips on how to spot fake crystals, we will address crystals with aura coatings and the process they go through and tools which can be used to determine whether your crystals babies are real or fake. The authenticity of crystals is vital to ensure you that receive a) What you've paid for and b) That they actually do what they say on the box!

Authentic crystals are grown deep below the earths surface and they undergo exposure from natural elements such as earth, water and darkness.

This process takes millions of years in some cases.

The process allows them to create and accumulate all the energy and magic that you experience whenever you purchase a crystal.

Many people in the market cheat this process and create fake synthetic items with glass, plastics, they can be dyed with cheaper crystals such as clear quartz in labs with a very quick turnaround and then sold as the real deal to unbeknown customers.

1) First of all my number one tip would be to research the seller before you purchase any crystals. What are there Ethics? Do they have good reviews? How does the general energy feel?

Generally speaking crystal sellers will know how important it is to you in regards to buying ethically sourced and authentic crystals and minerals.

2) Price, second up is the price! I know we all like to grab a bargain but how a crystal is priced is generally as a rule of thumb a great indication on the crystals journey and how it got to you. It can also indicate if the crystal has been a) well looked after in the mining process and b) whether there is the potential of it possibly being a counterfeit fake crystal.

Crystals take a while to mine with care, process, carve and ship to you.

putting aside whether the crystal may be fake or not, you want to ensure you are buying from someone that knows how important this process is and how this effects the crystals energy when you receive it. If you've received a crystal that would normally be on the pricey side for a fraction of the price, please air with caution.

10 Minutes of internet searching will help you to get a picture of how much that particular crystal generally sells for so you can go from there.

Next we will go into common crystals that are rife in the counterfeit market and tips on how to discover if they are authentic or a fake!

Amethyst

Amethyst is unfortunately one of the crystals commonly sold as genuine.

Genuine Amethyst will have sporadic colouration which is inconsistent, meaning it will not have a uniform colouration.

Amethyst that is created in a lab is will have consist colour uniform throughout, this process is when a glass formation or clear quartz has been placed in purple dye to recreate the appearance of a amethyst. They will not include fading or bleeding and will be distributed as one single colouration. A fake amethyst may also have air bubbles inside, this is another great way to tell if your amethyst is real or fake.

A authentic Amethyst will very rarely be wholly purple.

A genuine Amethyst should have a graduation of colour throughout with a mix of quartz visible.

Another great way would be to use a MOHS scale tool, Amethyst has a hardness of 7, this means that a MOHS tool lower than 7 can not scratch the crystal.

If the crystal scratches with MOHS tool and its less then a 7, then this would mean the crystal is not genuine amethyst.

Clear Quartz

Clear Quartz is another crystal that is rife within the counterfeit crystal world.

Glass is a very common material to be used and then sold as Clear Quartz. and although Glass is technically a natural derived material, Clear Quartz is not made from glass and therefore should never be sold as such.

Tell tell signs would again be tiny sir bubbles within the formation, bubbles are not part of the crystallization and process so if your quartz has air bubbles within it, then unfortunately it will be fake.

Glass is very smooth looking with no imperfections visible.

Clear Quartz will have lots of inclusions within its formation such as cracks, lines, waves, phantoms, iron inclusions and even other crystals that may growing within it. Anything that looks to perfect or clear would indicate that maybe your clear quartz is not actually quartz.

Clear Quartz also has a MOHS scale of 7, so any tool less then 7 should not scratch your quartz, if it does then again unfortunatly you have sold glass packaged as clear quartz.

Natural Citrine vs Heated Citrine.

Citrine is one of the most common and most targeted crystals within the fake market!

This is mainly due to how expensive genuine citrine is within the crystal world.

It has a hefty price tag (even at wholesale prices) and this obviously bulks the price up as it travels down the retail line.

If your looking for a genuine piece of citrine, you will need to be prepared to pay for it. Consider citrine as an investment piece when buying.

Genuine Citrine is such a beautiful mineral with the most incredible properties. Take some time in researching before you make a big purchase, especially with citrine because the market is rife with fakes!

Tell, Tell signs of a fake citrine.....

1) I hate to break it to you but, a bright yellow "citrine" is not genuine citrine!

unfortunately this is, what we would call in the crystal worldm "heated citrine".

This would have originally been Amethyst, which would have been placed through a heating process in lab to create the yellow colour hue. Its then sold as "citrine" often also priced as authentic citrine as well which makes the pill even more harder to swallow.

Many people do not mind this, everyone to their own! however if your buying "heated citrine" it should ALWAYS be sold as "heated citrine" and never sold under the guise of genuine.

I have shown some photos below of what to look out for when distinguishing real vs fake citrine.

Fake Citrine will always look yellow (almost too yellow, like glowing!!)

Real Citrine will have a smokey hue to it, You can tell its yellow however its almost like a smokey yellow tone. if you were to place a heated citrine and genuine citrine side by side there would be no argument on which of the two were genuine. Holding genuine Citrine up the light will also help in figuring out its authenticity, If its too smokey, chances are, its smokey quartz so also be very mindful of this.

I would always ask a trusted seller to source genuine citrine, rather then risking a fake citrine.

Fake Citrine

Fake Citrine

Real Citrine

Turquoise

Dyed Howlite is often sold on as genuine Turquois. It can be extremely obvious which is great because this allows you to be able to distinguish between authentic turquois and fake Turquois.
The photo shown is an example of what fake Turquois looks like.
I do not own the rights to this photo

I will continue to add to this section regularly to keep you up to date and informed on this subject.

Please note that these are my own personal opinions on what I have researched and experienced first hand myself. Other people may have differing opinions.

How To Spot Fake Crystals.

Authentic crystals are grown deep below the earths surface and they undergo exposure from natural elements such as earth, water and darkness.

This process takes millions of years in some cases.

The process allows them to create and accumulate all the energy and magic that you experience whenever you purchase a crystal.

​

Many people in the market cheat this process and create fake synthetic items with glass, plastics, they can be dyed with cheaper crystals such as clear quartz in labs with a very quick turnaround and then sold as the real deal to unbeknown customers.

Amethyst

Clear Quartz

Natural Citrine vs Heated Citrine.

Fake Citrine

Fake Citrine

Real Citrine

Turquoise

I will continue to add to this section regularly to keep you up to date and informed on this subject.

​

Please note that these are my own personal opinions on what I have researched and experienced first hand myself. Other people may have differing opinions.