Purple malachite
Commercial name for a purple rock or mineral aggregate marketed from China in 2024 in the form of polished objects such as spheres. The name…
Category: Gem or Scam? Library
Opal
Opal is a natural hydrated silica with the chemical formula SiOâ‚‚ – nHâ‚‚O and belongs to the mineraloids – substances that have much in common…
Monarch opal
A commercial name for a man-made opal, with the official name Sterling Opal. Names like Monarch, Galaxy, Monet or Exodus opal are commercial names referring…
Dandelion Zeolite
Commercial fantasy name for an artificially manufactured material marketed as unique zeolites or other minerals. In reality, these are sphere-shaped needles of fiberglass attached to…
Sunset quartz
Commercial name for clear quartz (rock crystal) with red hematite phantoms from India. This name refers to the striking phenomenon of reddish-brown “shadow” layers (phantoms)…
Gilson opal
A name for a synthetic man-made opal designed to mimic the appearance of natural precious opal as good as possible. Gilson opal was developed by…
Lonsdaleite (diamond)
The name lonsdaleite is an officially recognized mineral name for a rare form of carbon but is regularly used online and at trade shows for…
Heinekenite
Commercial (and comical) name for green glass. The name heinekenite occasionally pops up in collecting circles and online forums as a playful designation for green…
Quartz, synthetic / lab-grown
Although the mineral quartz is one of the most common minerals on earth and is found in large quantities, synthetically manufactured quartz also exists. This…
African bloodstone
Commercial name for a green-gray chalcedony with delineated pieces of red jasper and light gray chalcedony, often combined with speckles of pyrite. The stone consists…
