Fake crystals are every crystal collector's worst nightmare. Crystals are primarily sold online, which makes getting scammed even easier. Lucky for you, I’m about to share with you everything crystal scammers don’t want you to know. Before we get into differentiating fake crystals from real ones, let’s look at what exactly a fake crystal is. Everyone has slightly different opinions about what they consider a fake crystal, but here at Made in Mother Nature, we label a crystal as fake if it meets any of the following criteria:
- The crystal was man-made from glass, plastic, or any other material (e.g., opalite).
- The crystal was grown in a lab.
- The crystal was heat-treated and/or sold under a false name (e.g., heat-treated amethyst sold as citrine).
- The crystal was dyed or enhanced in some way to achieve a certain aesthetic.
I would like to note that there is nothing wrong with buying a fake crystal, as long as you are fully aware of what it is. For example, opalite is a man-made crystal that a lot of people like. In addition, many people are fine with heat-treated amethyst being sold as citrine. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Our goal is not to make someone feel like their opinion is wrong; it’s simply to educate buyers about fake crystals so they can make informed decisions. Well, now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a look at 10 simple ways you can tell if a crystal is fake.
1. The crystal has an unusual name.
The name of a crystal can be the first indication that it is fake. While fake crystals are commonly sold under the name of real crystals, there are instances where scammers will make up a completely random name. They may advertise it as a new find to confuse people. If you are tempted to buy a crystal with an unfamiliar name, do a quick Google search. If you don’t see anyone else selling a crystal with that name, then the crystal may be fake or mislabeled.
2. The crystal is priced cheaper than it should be.
I love a steal deal as much as the next person, but buying crystals is not the time to go with the cheapest thing you find. Several factors go into the price of a crystal, such as rarity and quality. Cheaper crystals are typically mined all over the world, while more expensive crystals are mined in only a few, or single, locations.
If you’re crystal shopping and you stumble across someone selling what would normally be an expensive crystal for a very low price, then there is a good chance that it is fake. For example, real citrine, which takes thousands of years to naturally form, is a rather expensive crystal. For that reason, it has become quite common for people to sell heat-treated amethyst as citrine because it’s cheaper and can be made quickly. While heat-treated crystals are not necessarily a bad thing, it’s a problem when sellers are not honest about what the crystal really is.
As always, you’ll want to do your research if you are unsure about a crystal’s authenticity due to its price. You can look at other crystal shops to get an idea of what price points they sell the same material at. Keep in mind that prices will vary between shops, so just because someone is selling a crystal for less than what other shops are selling it for does not always mean it’s a fake. What you want to be cautious about are drastically different prices.
3. The crystal was mined in the wrong location.
Some crystals can be mined all over the world, while others are only mined in specific locations. For example, larimar is a crystal that can only be mined in the Dominican Republic. If someone is selling larimar and they say it came from anywhere other than the Dominican Republic, then it is not genuine larimar. Flower agate is another crystal that is only mined in one location: Madagascar. If you’re unsure about a crystal’s locality, another Google search can help you find out.
4. The crystal is not cool to the touch.
Authentic crystals have high thermal inertia, making them cool to the touch when sitting at room temperature. Depending on the environment, a crystal might not be ice-cold, but it should be noticeably colder than the air around it. Keep in mind that once you are holding a crystal in your hands, it will warm up due to your body heat.
If you are dealing with a fake crystal, it may not have the same kind of thermal inertia that real crystals have, meaning it will not be cool to the touch. However, depending on the nature of the fake crystal, its temperature might not always be a surefire sign that it’s fake. For example, if a fake crystal is made of glass, it may still be cool to the touch like a real crystal would be.
5. The crystal feels light or hollow.
Crystals can be a lot heavier than they look due to their composition. Even something as small as a tumbled crystal should have a little bit of weight to it. A fake crystal that is made out of glass or plastic is not going to be as heavy as a real crystal would be. If you pick up a crystal and it feels light or even hollow, it may be fake.
6. The crystal's color(s) look too vibrant or unnatural.
Out of all of the signs we have discussed so far, the color of a crystal is perhaps one of the most obvious ways to tell if it is fake. The color of real crystals can be vibrant and rich-looking to some extent. What you’ll want to watch out for are crystals with colors that cross the line into looking unnatural. If a crystal has been dyed, the color may look like it’s just sitting on top of the crystal. Dye will also concentrate on cracks or crevices. Ultimately, you just have to use your best judgment. If you come across a crystal and the color of it looks unnatural or even too good to be true, then it’s likely the crystal is fake or has been enhanced in some way.
7. The patterns or designs on the crystal look uniform.
Crystals that have patterns, bands, or other natural designs should not look uniform or symmetrical. For example, malachite is a crystal that naturally has beautiful green banding. When you’re dealing with fake malachite (or any other fake crystal), the patterns typically look uniform with little variation. This can be an indication that the crystal was man-made.
8. The crystal has air bubbles.
A crystal with air bubbles can be a tell-tale sign that it’s made out of glass. The most common fake crystal made of glass is quartz (clear quartz, rose quartz, smoky quartz, etc.). As with every rule, there is an exception to this. Enhydros are crystals that have water or other substances trapped in them, which can look like a moving air bubble. These crystals are relatively rare and highly sought-after, so sellers will always explicitly state if a crystal is an enhydro. With that being said, if someone sells you a crystal that was not advertised as an enhydro and it contains an air bubble, it may be fake.
9. The crystal is not the correct hardness (Mohs Hardness Scale).
The Mohs Hardness Scale is a tool used to identify minerals. Every mineral is given a number between one and ten, which represents its hardness. Minerals that are a ten on the Mohs Hardness Scale (e.g., diamonds) are extremely hard, and minerals that are given a hardness of one (e.g., talc) are soft and brittle.
You can perform a scratch test with your crystal to help you determine if it is fake. The idea behind this is that a crystal or mineral can scratch anything that ranks below it on the Mohs Hardness Scale, and vice versa. Diamonds can scratch talc, and talc cannot scratch diamonds.
Let’s say you want to check to see if your quartz is real. Well, quartz is a seven on the Mohs Hardness Scale, which means that if it is real, anything less than a seven can be scratched by it. So, you can take a crystal that has a hardness that’s less than 7, such as fluorite or calcite, and attempt to scratch it with quartz. If the quartz is real, it should leave a scratch on the other crystal. Please note that, depending on the nature of the fake crystal, it could still pass the scratch test. That is why it is important to also consider other signs that your crystal is fake.
10. Your intuition tells you the crystal is fake.
When you doubt, trust your intuition. If there is even the slightest doubt in your mind that a crystal is fake, save yourself the trouble and don’t buy it.
Conclusion
You now have the knowledge you need to tell if a crystal is fake. Remember, one sign alone is usually not enough to determine a crystal’s authenticity. However, if two or more of the above signs apply to your crystal, it's more than likely fake. The single best thing you can do to avoid buying fake crystals is to shop with a trustworthy business. Here at Made in Mother Nature, you are guaranteed beautiful, high-quality, and authentic crystals.
— Camika ♡
