How to Read a Crystal Listing Before You Buy
A checklist for reading crystal product pages: mineral name, locality, treatment, dimensions, exact-piece photos and the claims worth questioning.
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Authenticity
Crystal Grading Explained: Why AAA Does Not Mean What You Think
There is no universal AAA system covering retail crystals. Learn what to ask instead of relying on alphabet soup.
Read →How to Spot Heat-Treated Amethyst Sold as Citrine
Most bright orange citrine clusters in the mass market began as amethyst. Here are the visual clues and the nuance sellers often skip.
Read →How to Spot Fake or Composite Malachite
Natural malachite has complex banding. Resin imitations and reconstructed material often reveal themselves in the pattern.
Read →Dyed Agate: How to Recognise It and Why It Is Not Automatically Bad
Neon blue, hot pink and electric purple agate are often dyed. The useful question is whether the seller tells you.
Read →Aura Quartz Explained: Natural Quartz, Manufactured Colour
Aura quartz begins with real quartz, but its rainbow metallic surface is created by a coating process.
Read →Natural, Synthetic, Imitation or Composite? Crystal Terms Explained
“Real” and “fake” collapse too many different materials into one argument. These terms are much more useful.
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