How to spot fake Moldavite

By Mike Eggleston / InnerVision Crystals

Since 2006 IVC has been one of the premier Moldavite experts / dealers in the world. My wife and I also edited the English Translation for our Czech Friends official book on Moldavite. 

4/14/22 - We are continually updating our page with information & Pictures

Tips to look for in fake stones :

1. If they appear to be the same shapes & textures, or resemble the pictures on this page

2. If they all appear Shiny / Wet looking.

3. If the Faceted gemstones do not have bubbles or inclusions, if these appear flawless or clean like glass then they are probably fake. All Real Faceted Moldavite will have some bubbles, any shape and any size & lechatelierite inclusions (pure silica glass - melted quartz), the way only nature can create.

New Video 9/27/2020 to help YOU identify your Moldavite

Please STUDY these videos & pictures so YOU can spot the differences.

If you still cant figure it out ,You can also ask on Facebook in various Moldavite Groups. But please look over the info here so you can do it yourself before overwhelming groups with "is it fake" posts.

These have been the most popular in 2020 / 2021 as well as in Pendant form from a few companies. They appear to have made molds & mass produced them. India is also trying to make chips, but they can not replicate the texture, etc. ONLY BUY FROM TRUSTED SOURCES. If you are trying to buy on ebay / etsy and the price seems LOW , then it is probably fake, even though some are charging top dollar $ for these fakes. Here are some new fakes out of India , making different shapes now, probably molds, but can not replicate the natural texture.

Here is an amazing pic of a heavily included REAL Moldavite gemstone. You can see the inclusions from lechatelierite & bubbles. This is ONLY seen in Gemstones or Polished Moldavite stones, not in Raw form.

BUBBLES can be ANY shape & size (they are only seen inside the stone, polished or faceted. Bubbles are not on the surface), the Surface is the texture, pitting, and erosion from nearly 14.5 million years. This varies piece to piece.

IVC has been featured in the June 2015 Crystal Resonance Magazine https://www.facebook.com/CrystalResonanceMagazine (Naisha Ashian / co-author of "The Book of Stones") with an edited version of this page in an Article on How to Spot Fake Moldavite, with pics and all. You can check out the June 2015 issue by registering for Free here and download the issue. This is the leading online publication for Energy Healing & Crystals, check it out https://vc222.customerhub.net/register

Once of my business partners was in Hong Kong on business and sent me this photo of Fake stones in the market. Including fake Libyan Desert glass and "red" Moldavites.

High Quality Fake Facets coming out of Thailand with Certifications! Good Color but virtually flawless with none of the tell tale signs of Moldavite, all though some are starting to use glass material with bubble but the color is way off. These are all over ebay as well. This is why a certificate is really worthless, it all comes down to research and finding a Trusted source. The only certifications I would trust are from the GIA. I saw this material in Tucson 2 years ago when a well known Dealer from Thailand tried selling me a couple thousand dollars in large faceted stones. Its NEVER as flawless like these Glass ones & There are usually the tell tale swirls / bubbles / waves of some kind. Please use this page to educate yourself. 

October 2014 - Today, I walked up the street to Colgate University and met with the Geology Chairman , William Peck, to use a very cool piece of equipment. A hand held X-Ray Analyzer. We tested some Real Moldavites and a couple fake pieces from Hong Kong. Here are the fakes, the bigger one is the one that goes with the scan pics of the Analyzer. Showing Very high Lead levels (Pb) and Much lower Silicon (Si) and other differences than real Moldavite.

These fakes were both scanned.  It is only 48% SiO2, while real natural moldavite is in the range 72-80 wt%.  It has undetectable or almost no Fe, Zr, or Ti, while some of those elements is always seen in natural moldavite. Al is also very low.  The most interesting thing is that there is 24 wt% Pb, 1.8 wt% As, and 2900 ppm Cl in the fake piece, while there is almost none of these elements in the natural moldavite. It also has 8.7 % K2O, which is about 3x the amount in the natural samples. The second fake is the cut one.  It is totally different form the first fake.  The SiO2 is similar to natural moldavite (77% SiO2), but has undetectable or almost no Fe, Zr, Ti, or K.  Al is also very low. It doesn't have the Pb or As of the other fake, but does have high Cl (3800 ppm).  - William Peck, Professor of Geology, Colgate University