How to Spot Fake Moldavite | The webs best Education page on the fakes coming out of China, Thailand & India.
By Mike Eggleston / Owner of InnerVision Crystals
Explore our entire selection of Moldavite - Click here or use the menu above
If you want to know if a piece is authentic please dont hesitate to
CONTACT ME, with photos, or links to the piece and I will let you know, I get requests for this all the time and am very quick to reply. I Also have access to an Xray Analyzer at Colgate University in the Geology Department if I need to test anything, but after handling thousands of pieces over a decade I can easily tell. My wife an I also edited the English Translation for our Czech Friends official book on Moldavite.
Updated January 2019
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 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 & lechatelierite inclusions (pure silica glass - melted quartz), the way only nature can create.
New Video Showing What to look for & Fakes on Ebay January 20, 2019
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 macro pic of a heavily included Moldavite gemstone
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.
Enjoy! Mike @ InnerVision Crystals
Sept 2016 - Another Large Fake tested by IVC at Colgate Universiry Geology Department, Hamilton NY.
July 13,2015 - 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 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. I would go so far as to say that 95% or more of all the Moldavite from these locations, both Rough and Faceted are fake. New Fake Moldavite 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.
October 2017 - New Fakes from China on Ebay! Notice how they all look the same, Same shape, texture, etc. These are very good fakes indeed, but anyone who knows enough about how unique each piece is should see red flags with every piece looking like eggs - or the SAME shapes, SAME Textures. Etc.
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.
The color on these facets is very wrong. This does not occur in Moldavite.
At the 2015 NY / NJ Gem show , Rough Looking pieces, but ALL Large and definitely fakes. I played with them and couldn't believe what I was seeing, I emailed the dealer later to let him know as I didn't get a chance at the show. All these have the Same Textures / Skins. These are poured in Molds and then given acid baths or some other kind of treatment to appear rough.They all look exactly the same and a few are even the same piece from the same mold!
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. To study pictures of Natural Moldavite Check these out
October 22, 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.
The first is the flat oval fake one. 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
Here is a very good 110 gram fake piece that was sold to a person in the Philippines for $1000 USD. This is a classic example of the material being used in XXL pieces. If it were real this would be a $15,000 - $20,000+ piece. The Color is good, but the wet glass look gives it away almost instantly to those familiar with the stone.
Here is one of the many things I was emailed - an 848 gram piece of green glass someone found, they were of course selling it, with a gem certification stating it was Moldavite.
July 31, 2011 I had a customer in Malaysia email me pics of a 184 Gram Fake he was offered for $3000 from a Chinese Dealer / "collector". These "Dealers" are getting bold making pieces this large. I knew it was fake as soon as I saw it and confirmed this with my Czech Source who said he sees it at the Hong Kong Gem show. If this 184 gram was real it would be much more than $3000, a piece this size in excellent condition like this scam piece would be more in the $25,000+ range. Because of limited production in the Czech Republic the past few years and increased popularity of Moldavite suppliers in Thailand & China / Hong Kong have been using a glass composite to manufacture fake Moldavite and sell in the online market, and probably many gem shows in Asia - most of it is found on ebay and to the trained eye is blatantly obvious, most of it is probably coming from one or two suppliers.***MOST OF THIS IS BEING SOLD OVERSEAS IN ASIA & ONLINE PRIMARILY ON EBAY & OTHER "WHOLESALE" SITES****
The Largest Moldavite ever found was in the 258 gram range and anything over 50 grams is extremely hard to find on the market as they end up in Private collections pretty fast. 20+ gram are considered "Select" Size, Large. The largest piece we have sold was 107 grams, and 1 other 105 gram piece. It is important to educate yourself about all crystals and gems you are going to invest your money in, buy only from dealers who have a reputation in the business for having good material direct from the Czech Republic. My Source is the biggest in the Czech and I confirmed this 184 gram piece with him as we have been warning people about this for awhile. Those hoping to save a a few dollars by ordering from China or dealers on ebay get what they pay for, 99% of the Faceted Moldavite on ebay from Thailand and China is FAKE, Real Moldavite will have bubbles & swirls within it, not like the glass being sold on the market as Moldavite. See pictures below. Much of the Rough Fake material is one color, usually flat oval like shapes, may have good texture but do not have the natural veils and bubbles or inclusions of lechatelierite (pure silica glass - melted quartz) inclusions of the real thing. it is also reported to fluorescent under UV or Black Light. Many also look wet or shiny, like melted glass, very few natual moldavites even look like this, I see a few pieces per kg and the natural ones are from Weathering / Water. Some are getting pretty good at it too but you can tell if you know what you are looking at.
Check out the Largest Online collection of Moldavite here http://www.innervisioncrystals.net/collections/moldavite
