Falcon’s Eye
Commercial name for blue tiger’s eye. In fact still unoxidized crocidolite, thus the precursor of tiger’s eye. The blue color is caused by 2-valent iron…
Category: Gem or Scam? Library
Snowflake obsidian
Commercial name for a natural black volcanic glass with white “snowflake” crystal patterns of the mineral cristobalite, created by partial crystallization (devitrification) of the glass.…
Skeletal quartz / Window quartz
Name used for a growth form of quartz and so it is not a separate mineral. In skeletal quartz, the edges grow faster than the…
Vulcanite / Volcanite
A somewhat obsolete general geological designation for a group of volcanic rocks, but in recent years used as a trade name for one specific volcanic…
White moonstone
Commercial name for a white, unspecified feldspar with a form of blue or multi-colored ‘flash’ or pearlescent luster. Sometimes this is ‘true’ moonstone (orthoclase/microcline combined…
Mirror apophyllite
Unnecessary designation for the mineral apophyllite in which a mirror-like reflection can be seen in the crystals or on the cleavage surfaces of broken crystals.…
White turquoise
Misleading and incorrect designation for the mineral howlite. Howlite and magnesite are white porous minerals with a veined appearance that are often dyed to imitate…
Youngite
A local name for fractured pieces of jasper (breccia) covered with druzy quartz crystals. It is classified in Mindat as a variety of agate, but…
Spider web obsidian
Unregistered commercial name for a stone with black angular fragments with gray-green veins or fissures as in a breccia. This gives the stone a somewhat…
White jade
Tremolite jade with a low level of impurities is called white jade, it is usually cloudy white or not completely even white. White jade is…
