Identification guides
Telling real quartz from its imitations
One guide, one way a stone can be misrepresented. Each guide states the check, the physics behind it, and — the part most guides leave out — when the check stops working.
Glass, and the five-second check Why a bubble in glass is always a perfect sphere, and an inclusion in quartz never is.6 min · Imitation Buying Your First Crystal? Don’t Fall for the “Perfect” Trap Total perfection is often a sign of factory manufacturing. A few basic rules about how gems are sold.4 min · Buying The Aura Quartz Debate: Is It a Modern Miracle or Just a Shiny Paint Job? Aqua Aura, Angel Aura, Flame Aura: what vacuum coating actually does to clear quartz, and how the coat fails against friction, chlorine and perfume.6 min · Treatment From a Cosmic Crater to a Green Beer Bottle: The Epidemic of Fake Moldavite A gem lab prints one phrase on the Species line: Natural Glass. Real impact glass has a chaotic surface and every piece is unique; fifty pieces with identical wrinkles are factory-made. Mohs 5.5 to 6, amorphous, conchoidal fracture.5 min · Imitation Six Crystal Identification Myths That Do Not Prove Your Quartz Is Natural“Can someone tell me if this crystal is real?” It is probably the most common question in a crystal group. The answers arrive just as quickly: put it over printed words, look for cloudy inclusions, feel whether it is cold, or try scratching glass.10 min · Guide How to Spot Dyed Quartz and What Home Checks Cannot Tell YouDyeing is one of the familiar ways to change a crystal's appearance. It is inexpensive and can produce vivid colors, so treated material may be more common than a buyer expects. The useful news is that learning where to look can help you recognize warning signs without damaging a piece.7 min · GuideInsights
Insights
The Fire Quartz Fraud: Why Those Bright Red Crystals Might Be the Work of an Oven
Natural fire quartz gets its red and gold from hematite and goethite left behind by iron-rich fluids; the factory version is clear quartz shattered by thermal shock, then filled with dye and epoxy resin under pressure.6 min · Treatments
Insights
The Auralite 23 Story: A Closer Look at Crystal Structure and Value
Lab certificates read Natural Quartz, not a count of 23 minerals — what a real bead actually holds, and why the heavy inclusions make it crack more easily.6 min · Myths
Insights
The Silent Agreement of the Tanzanite Industry: Born Brown, Baked Blue
Tanzanite is not a standalone mineral species; it is zoisite, and it leaves the mine a muddy yellow-brown. The royal blue comes from an industrial oven held at 450°C to 500°C. Heat treatment is a fully legal enhancement and the legal line is disclosure. Perfect cleavage is why ultrasonic and steam cleaning can split the stone.6 min · Treatment
Insights
The Hidden Chemistry of Bohemian Style: Why Turquoise and Malachite Hate the Shower
Malachite is a copper carbonate mineral: sweat and body wash turn the glossy green foggy, dull and matte, and prolonged moisture can release trace copper ions. Turquoise is cryptocrystalline and full of invisible pores, so capillary action pulls chlorine, fragrance and body oils inside.4 min · Care
Insights
The “Super Seven” Myth: Why Your Most Expensive Crystal Might Be a Fragile Flaw
A lab report says Natural Quartz. Under the microscope most beads hold rutile or goethite plus colour zoning — and heavy inclusions make the bead easy to crack.7 min · Myths
Insights
The Myth of Mohs Hardness: Why Your “Safe” Crystals Are Still Ruining in Water
Mohs hardness does not tell you if a mineral is chemically stable. It doesn't tell you if it will rust, dissolve, absorb oils, or crack under pressure.6 min · Care
Insights
The Cost of Over-Cleansing: A Gemologist’s Guide to Crystal Care
From a gemological standpoint, some of these methods do real, physical damage.5 min · Care