Padma
I found these websites this morning, and I wanted to share them here...it is very easy to be misled by a convincing fake, it even happens to experts in the mineral world - so I thought for many of us who are amateur collectors of crystals, this would be a valuable guide.
It also makes it *very* clear that there are many hoaxters out to make easy money on ebay and the like! Please try to buy from trustworthy sources...
So...please inform yourselves before buying, and also remember: if it looks really odd, really rare, really unusual, really brightly coloured, or just "too good to be true" then it usually IS!
http://www.fakeminerals.com/
http://www.the-vug.com/vug/vugfakes.html
ETA I am adding a website that explains and shows how using your eyes can help you tell a real gemstone (the kind used for making jewelry, not raw stones) from a fake one. Hope it helps!
http://facetingacademy.com/learn-faceting/learn-faceting-free/gem-identification/
It also makes it *very* clear that there are many hoaxters out to make easy money on ebay and the like! Please try to buy from trustworthy sources...
So...please inform yourselves before buying, and also remember: if it looks really odd, really rare, really unusual, really brightly coloured, or just "too good to be true" then it usually IS!
http://www.fakeminerals.com/
http://www.the-vug.com/vug/vugfakes.html
ETA I am adding a website that explains and shows how using your eyes can help you tell a real gemstone (the kind used for making jewelry, not raw stones) from a fake one. Hope it helps!
http://facetingacademy.com/learn-faceting/learn-faceting-free/gem-identification/