Fake Crystals: A Growing Problem
The amount of fake, mislabelled, incorrectly identified and treated crystals, rocks, and minerals being sold online is a serious problem. This article looks at what's being faked, the techniques used to produce it, the trade names invented to sell it, and how to work out who you're actually buying from.
The Rise of Fake Crystals, Particularly Online
I have to admit I've become slightly obsessed with companies that sell fake crystals online. The amount of fake material being sold to unsuspecting buyers is growing at an alarming rate.
It's not only consumers who are being scammed, but also small business owners.
As the practice of using crystals for healing has grown, hundreds of new businesses have appeared, many selling through online marketplaces and social media. Unfortunately, many of these sellers have limited scientific knowledge of rocks and minerals.
Although scientific knowledge isn't a prerequisite for running a crystal business, a lack of knowledge has contributed to the growing amount of mislabelled, misidentified, and treated material in the supply chain.
Many small business owners buy directly from India, Pakistan, Indonesia, and China. China's technology has advanced to the point where even those with considerable experience can struggle to determine whether a rock or mineral is real or fake.
Although the colour of some stones from India and Pakistan has been enhanced, most of the world's fake crystals, and the most convincing, come from China.
Which Crystals Are Most Often Faked
Labradorite, moldavite, quartz, larimar, lapis lazuli, sunstone, malachite and ocean jasper are some of the most common fakes.
Much of what's sold as moldavite is bottle glass or manufactured green glass, sometimes remelted and pressed in a mould to mimic the natural surface texture. Gas bubbles were once considered a useful identifying feature of real moldavite, but bubbles alone are not reliable, as they can also occur in imitation glass. They can also be produced artificially.
Some rocks and minerals are dyed to mimic others or to make them appear to be a higher grade. Fine, translucent coatings can be used to enhance schiller in labradorite, and some highly iridescent labradorite stones are resin or clay.
Hemimorphite is sold as 'Chinese larimar', and fake malachite can be produced from resin or plastic.
Candy Fluorite from 'Brazil'
The seller of these colourful fluorite points describes them as "high-quality natural fluorite from Brazil." Fluorite with this distinctive colour combination comes from China. Fluorite is sometimes heated, which can reduce its natural colour and increase translucency. This material is sold as Candy Fluorite or Watermelon Fluorite. The colour has been enhanced by some kind of treatment, but the exact method is not known.
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Crystal Balls and Engineered Iridescence
Many of the quartz crystals mass-produced in China, particularly crystal balls and carved pieces, exhibit exceptional iridescence. While the colours are genuine optical effects, they rarely appear in this way.
The impressive colour is caused by thin-film interference, where light reflects off extremely thin internal layers or fractures within the crystal. In natural quartz, this usually occurs in small, localised areas, appearing as brief flashes that change with the viewing angle. It's extremely unusual for this effect to produce continuous bands of colour across a large surface.
The internal fractures or stress within the quartz that produce this colour are likely to have been created during manufacturing. The result is a dramatic display of moving colours, far more intense than anything found in untreated natural quartz.
In a conversation with this seller, I asked whether the optical effect was natural. They confirmed that it was and stated it was caused by the refraction of light. I said that I would like to buy one, but would have it tested to ensure the crystal ball had not been engineered or coated. They confirmed it could be returned if it was found not to be genuine. The following day, they contacted me to say it had sold and that they had no more available.
Unsurprisingly, their social media page is full of crystals and crystal balls with similar colour.
Another technique used to produce or enhance colour is vapour deposition. A fine layer of titanium or titanium oxide is applied to the surface of a crystal or mineral, creating an exaggerated iridescent effect. This process is used on material sold as aura quartz.
The other point to consider is that many crystal balls are glass or lead crystal. Lead crystal is not quartz; it's glass infused with lead.
Asking Where a Stone Came From
I recently saw an impressive blue lace agate sphere on Instagram. This stone can only be found in Namibia, Zambia and Malawi.
The colour looked too good to be true. However, it could be genuine because a significant amount of high-grade material from Namibia is known to have been sold to China. The only way to know for certain would be to have it tested.
I contacted a seller to ask where the stone was from.
When I explained that blue lace agate isn't found in Brazil, my subsequent messages were ignored. Having contacted another business with an identical sphere, they initially told me it was from Brazil or Africa. When I said I wanted to know for certain, they said the stone was from Namibia, but the spheres were cut and polished in their factory in China.
The colour of this blue lace agate sphere is far bluer than a high-grade polished stone in my own collection. That may be down to lighting or the camera, but I have good experience buying polished rocks and minerals locally in China.
Here's another message that I sent after seeing a clip of several "celestite spheres." When cut and polished, celestite and blue calcite can look very similar. However, celestite is a different mineral, and it's also more expensive.
Regarding these fluorite crystal towers, I asked if they had them in smoky quartz. They said they were out of stock. I'm fairly certain this is smoky quartz, and positive it's not fluorite.
Minerals Described Incorrectly
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Minerals being labelled or described incorrectly is another growing problem. This listing features a sphere being sold by a seller based in the UK.
Ruby and fuchsite are different minerals that often occur together. Ruby is the mineral corundum, while fuchsite (pronounced fooksite) is a chromium-rich mica that's usually green. Therefore, this sphere should be described as 'ruby in fuchsite,' which is green mica.
Invented Trade Names
Unregulated trade names are also common. Rainbow amethyst, titanium quartz, and aura quartz (both treated with a coating of titanium and other metal oxides), sugar chalcedony (probably because of the layer of minute crystals), lavender fluorite, and aqua rose, to name just a few. Aura quartz describes a recognised treatment, while lavender fluorite can simply be a description of the stone's colour.
Cherry quartz is man-made. It's widely claimed to be produced by fusing quartz with cinnabar, an ore of mercury, but that story doesn't stand up. Cinnabar breaks down well below the temperature needed to melt silica, and no gemmological source appears to document the process. Cherry quartz is coloured glass.
Where Is the Business Really Based?
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When visiting a crystal website, I always look for a trading address. I initially look at the contact or returns page, and if it's not there, I look through their Terms and Conditions. Once you start looking, you'll be surprised by how few businesses share where they are. In many cases, you won't even find a telephone number.
Most UK-based businesses have a .co.uk domain, but some have .com or .org. Businesses in China and India that want you to believe they're in the UK can be very convincing.
Some businesses that trade in online marketplaces claim to be in the UK and may publish an address, but it's not where they are or where merchandise is dispatched from.
This business contacted me on Instagram. When I asked where they were, they said they were in Pakistan. After searching for them online, I found they had two shops on Etsy. Looking at their post-sale feedback, the main complaint was about how long it took for goods to arrive.
There was nothing on either account to indicate they were in Pakistan.
A business that I followed for a while on social media publishes interesting videos related to geology. Many of their followers are serious rock and mineral collectors. Nothing about their page indicates they mass-produce low-grade crystals in China.
Their profile includes a link to their Etsy shop, which states they're in "England." However, it didn't take long to discover they're in China.
Their merchandise could not be any more different to what they post on social media. Although they have over a thousand positive reviews, it seems that most customers who have left a review struggle to write in English.
You may be surprised to learn that many online reviews are fake. Selling fake reviews, likes, and followers is big business.
Another company that claims to be in the UK are selling these love hearts. They're not citrine and are not even heated amethyst. I think they're glass.
Buying Online
When shopping online for crystals, take time to research the stone you're interested in and try to learn a little about the business selling it. Checking customer reviews on Google or Trustpilot is a good idea, but the positive ones tell you very little. "Excellent shopping experience, fast dispatch" says nothing about whether the stone you receive will be what it claims to be.
When I check reviews for any company, I only read the negative ones, if there are any. They're far more likely to be genuine, since fake positive reviews can be bought in the hundreds or even thousands. A negative review will tell you more about a business, its products and how it handles complaints.
I would always expect a retailer to respond to a review. I believe it shows they appreciate that someone has taken the time to leave a review of their business.
If the review is negative, an acknowledgement that the retailer will be in touch by email to discuss the matter shows me that they take complaints seriously.
The exception is eBay and Etsy, where large amounts of feedback can be left within a short period, so it is not always possible to reply. Responding to feedback is also uncommon on these platforms unless the feedback is negative. With that said, I see plenty of negative feedback where the seller hasn't responded.
