Real or Fake? How to Tell If Your Crystal Is Genuine

Is your amethyst real?

Amethyst is cheap enough that outright counterfeits are less common than two specific issues: dyed glass sold as amethyst, and synthetic (lab-grown) quartz. Both are physically 'real' material in a sense, but neither is natural amethyst, and glass is worth almost nothing.

Is your citrine real?

With citrine the real question is usually not 'real or glass' but 'natural or heat-treated amethyst.' Both are genuine quartz, but natural citrine is far scarcer and worth more, so the distinction drives most of the price.

Is your pyrite real?

The classic question with pyrite is the opposite of most stones: people want to know whether their 'gold' is real gold or just pyrite (fool's gold). The two are easy to tell apart with a few quick tests — and the value gap is enormous.

Is your turquoise real?

More than almost any other stone, 'turquoise' in the wild is often not natural turquoise at all. The big four issues are dyed howlite/magnesite, reconstituted ('block') turquoise, plastic imitation, and resin-stabilization of genuine but chalky stone.

Is your moldavite real?

Moldavite is the poster child for fakes: genuine material is restricted to one Czech location, so the flood of cheap 'moldavite' online is overwhelmingly molded green glass. Telling them apart is mostly about surface texture and provenance.

Is your malachite real?

Malachite is faked less often than turquoise, but two issues come up: reconstituted ('pressed') malachite made from powder and resin, and outright imitations in dyed howlite or green glass. The natural banding pattern is the best tell.

Is your opal real?

With opal, 'fake' usually means one of three things: a doublet/triplet (a sliver of real opal made to look like a solid stone), lab-grown synthetic opal, or imitation glass/plastic ('opalite'). Each changes value dramatically.