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~ Fakes, Forgeries, Misrepresentations, and Scams ~ The contents of this page including pictures appear originally at www.the-vug.com and are used here with expressed permission from the-vug.com. It is mirrored here to help the lapidary novice avoid common collecting pitfalls and scams and to help promote all the honest members of the lapidary community. This page is a list of scams, fakes, forgeries and misrepresentations that appear in the mineral collecting market. Some are old and are some are new. Many of these fakes are quite pretty and are collectable because of their aesthetics. In general, however, they are of low value and usually should not be included as part of a "serious" mineral collection. To learn more about specific minerals, including their colors, crystal habits, etc., explore Mindat and WebMineral. To find reliable dealers and late breaking news visit www.the-vug.com |
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Arkansas Diamond: Arkansas is known for something very unique. The ONLY public access diamond mine in the entire world. For a small fee, anyone can go to the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro Arkansas and search for diamonds in the giant open dirt field. Diamonds from Arkansas are also special because of a very important fact. They are worth some SERIOUS dollars! A man figured out he could make some money by purchasing diamonds from India then take them into the park and “find” them. read more at fakeminerals.com | |
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Aluminum and Magnesium: Some dealers are selling specimens they claim to be natural aluminum or natural magnesium, taken from a mine. Beware! Aluminum and magnesium are too reactive to survive in their native, metallic state for more than a few years. These "specimens" are probably just raw aluminum or magnesium from a refining plant. | |
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Aqua Aura: Mineral specimens of various types but most commonly quartz crystals, can be treated in a laboratory so they become bluish or iridescent on their surfaces. This is done by vapor deposition of a very thin layer of metal, usually gold. (Some claim to use titanium or indium.) The resultant material is most frequently called "aqua aura." | |
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Bismuth: Iridescent bismuth crystals have become quite popular because of their fascinating hoppered crystal structure. The locality for these bismuth "specimens" is frequently listed as Belgium or Germany. These crystals are made in a laboratory, by allowing super cooled liquid bismuth to crystallize. Bismuth does occur in nature, but usually as dull gray amorphous ("without crystal structure") lumps and often accompanied by yellow or green oxidation products. | |
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Carborundum: This spiky, iridescent material is not natural. Most specimens are man-made silicon carbide, manufactured for use as an abrasive, or when gemmy, as a diamond stimulant. It occurs naturally in meteorites, where it is called moissanite. The localities for these "specimens" may be Mexico, Schenectady (New York) or others. | |
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Cermikite: This is not a natural mineral, but instead is probably laboratory-grown chrome alum (aluminum chromium sulfate) or regular, colorless alum which has been crystallized in the presence of a dye. Other laboratory grown specimens of different colors have also been called cermikite. Usually ascribed to Poland or Romania. Not a common fake. | |
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Chalcanthite: Striking, deep blue crystals of "chalcanthite" (copper sulfate) have been a popular scam on ebay in the past year or two. While chalcanthite does occur in nature (picture at left), it is usually as a blue massive or crusty material. Well-formed crystals of more than a few millimeters are exceptionally rare. On the other hand, it is quite easy to grow these "chalcanthite" specimens in a lab (picture at right). and are ascribed to localities in Brazil, China or Poland. Avoid dealers who cannot or will not provide more details. |
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Fluorite Octahedron: Natural, octahedral (eight-sided) crystals of fluorite occur widely in nature, but rarely without some point of contact with a host or matrix rock. With a bit of practice, one can cleave or break fluorite (usually massive or poorly crystallized material) along the octahedral cleavage planes to produce a sharp, flawless octahedron. These can be easily recognized because they lack any evidence of previous attachment to matrix, as well as exceptionally sharp edges where crystal faces meet. | |
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Myanmar vs. Vietnam: Due to US import embargoes on gems and minerals from Myanmar (Burma), some specimens from Myanmar are attributed to Vietnamese localities. Some of the minerals in question are tourmaline, pargasite (at right), ruby and spinel (at left). However, some of these specimens really do come from Vietnam. Be cautious when purchasing, especially from a dealer you do not know very well. The specimens shown are ascribed to Vietnam but are probably from Myanmar instead. |
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Pentagonite vs. Cavansite: Cavansite is a popular mineral due to its striking blue color, usually on a white heulandite or stilbite matrix. Pentagonite (picture right) is a significantly rarer polymorph of cavansite. They are very similar in both color and crystal shape but pentagonite crystals are generally more needle-like than cavansite crystals. Pentagonite gets its name from its common habit of forming twinned crystals consisting of five needles radiating from the same spot. Because cavansite and pentagonite may not be easily distinguished, the "pentagonite" specimens sold by some dealers are really just cavansite. |
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Saffron Okenite: This began appearing early in 2005. Some dealers claim it's from India and others from China, but all refuse to name a specific locality. The tufts of saffron yellow okenite needles against a white matrix were selling at thousand dollars each. These are fakes of the first order, made in a laboratory by applying a yellow dye to common Indian okenite specimens. With very rare exception, natural okenite is usually very white. Don't be fooled by this obvious scam! |
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Silver: At least one online auction dealer site is selling silver "nuggets" (at right) that come "from deep within the mine" and are ".999 pure silver." When asked for specifics about the mine we are told only it's in Nevada. Natural silver (at left) is an alloy containing traces (or more) of other metals such as platinum, gold and copper. It also usually has a minor to deep gray or black tarnish. Naturally bright, shiny silver should be suspect as having been cleaned or being a fake. Also, natural silver of 0.999 ("three nines") purity is unbelievable. These "silver nuggets" appear to be little more than melted silver (with air bubbles visible in some cases, and sometimes cast over bits of quartz to add the their "authenticity") or just soldering metal. Pretty for what they are, perhaps, but worthless as mineral specimens. |
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Turquoise: At least one dealer is selling large, 2-6 pounds or more, of fake (at right) turquoise nuggets. They appear to be constructed by placing a mixture of high-quality powdered turquoise and epoxy glue around what may be a rock or lead core. Check the density or specific gravity of suspect turquoise nuggets to be sure, especially if the price seems too good. These fakes have appeared on some online auction sites with some Chinese dealers, and may also be occurring elsewhere. The locality in some cases is claimed to be Labashan Mine, Zhushan, Hubei Province, China. |
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Zincite: Natural zincite usually occurs a reddish, massive material. However, in recent years, sharply-crystallized, very gemmy, glassy zincite in a variety of shades of green (at right), yellow, brown, orange and red (at left) has been offered, often as gem rough. This material is produced as a by-product of zinc smelting operations, principally in Poland. Pretty enough for what it is, but not natural! |
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Zircon:
Some Chinese sellers are producing
these lab grown zircon crystals as natural crystals. A
quick scan over eBay in July 2005 shows no less than six
different colors available for sale. Many have a sandy
matrix that matches the color of the crystal. Like big
chunks of "fakite," these lab-grown zircons are only
worth it for the fake cutting rough and if you like big
fake looking crystals!
Natural zircons are much smaller and from most locations are not gemmy at all, but rather blocky and crude. The pictures show Zircon grown in a laboratory. Note the unusual colors and lack of crystal faces. |
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If you know of a scam, fake, forgery or misrepresentation
that is not on this list, please
send
it to The Vug so that it can be included, and so other collectors can learn
from your experiences.