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How to spot fake Moldavite

How to Spot Fake Moldavite | The webs best Education page on the fakes coming out of China, Thailand & India.

 

By Mike Eggleston / InnerVision Crystals

How to spot fake Moldavite

 

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. 

mysterious tears from heaven Innervision crystals
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.

How to spot fake moldavite innervision crystals
how to spot fake moldavite innervision crystals
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 genuine Gemstones or Polished Moldavite stones, not in Raw form.

moldavite inclusions

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.
Moldavite gemstone inclusions

It is time to put the misinformation floating around the inter webs to bed. Take a rare look at this amazing stone, Moldavite in all its beauty. This is what the fakers can never reproduce. Again, Every stone is different and these are taken at high resolution under extreme magnification, you will not see much of this with the naked eye.
Sept 2016 - Another Large Fake tested by IVC at Colgate Universiry Geology Department, Hamilton NY.

 

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

Moldavite from IVC was also featured on S06E08 of the History Channel Show "Ancient Aliens"
 
The Overwhelming amount of Fakes on ebay and other market places from China / Hong Kong, India & Thailand played a big part in why IVC stopped selling there as they do nothing to block these fraudulent sellers. New Fake Moldavite are hitting the market form China & India, more shapes - probably from Molds. You should notice the wet / shiny melted glass look, they are changing this with some of the newer molds, using new methods to get that "rough texture" look. Its easy to tell the difference if you know what you are looking for. Many are the same shapes, "perfect", in all sizes, including BIGGER than the biggest real stones. Look at the pieces on this page and then compare with these real Moldavites.
 
Unfortunately I would recommend to Avoid dealers from China, India & Thailand online - if their products look like the pieces on this page. Another clue is if its much cheaper than other dealers (though some are now charging top dollar for this fake stuff) Again, this is primarily being seen on sites like eBay & DHgate  and even Amazon & Etsy.
 
Fake beads are selling at a fraction of the price and sometimes for full price - Notice there are NO inclusions you would expect to see in Moldavite, clean like glass - sometimes they sneak a bubble in but if they are CLEAN, they are most likely fakes. Ebay & Etsy are loaded with these.
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 authentic 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 genuine 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

 
 

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