Is this amethyst real...

[kimkaler]

Hello All!

Anyone know how to tell if an amethyst is real or synthetic? Thanks.

 

[colormyworld]

Date: 1/16/2009 3:48:45 PM
Author:hamumlo
Hello All!

Anyone know how to tell if an amethyst is real or synthetic? Thanks.

Well the only sure fire way is to send to a lab for a report. Short of doing that there can be clues in the natural material to look for. Inclusions are helpful. Another thing to look for is color zoning. Almost all natural amethyst is color zoned while synthetic is not. The same goes for citrine. Looking at the stone from various directions while the stone is in water or better yet minerial oil helps to better see the zoning and inclusions.

 

[Pandora II]

Synthetic amethyst is generally top colour - or at least all the pieces I have/have seen are.

I had a look at a real one next to a synthetic just now and there wasn''t anything that I could spot that would tell one from the other - except that the real one was fairly expensive as amethysts go.

It would probably cost more to have it tested than the stone is to start with.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

That''s what I was thinking. Most amethyst is very inexpensive, so I don''t think it would be worth the cost of having it tested.

 

[Sagebrush]

Diamond Seeker,

You hit the nail right on the head. There is a great deal of synthetic amethyst in the market. The relatively low cost of even fine amethyst keeps it from being tested. A lab report can easily cost more than the stone and a definitive test MAY require the use of equipment not available to the average gemologist.

There is a fairly simple test that gemologists use called Brazil Law twinning. It can be carried out with the basic equipment normally available to the jeweler-gemologist. However it is only definitive in cases where the phenomenon is present.

Dealers generally buy rough or from cutters who have seen the rough. There is an element of trust here.

Best,

 

[cofor]

A kind of zoning may also be present in synthetic amethyst. As it is not unususal to have a colorless seed plate when hydrothermally growing the synthetic there are instances where you can spot a colorless band in the synthetic amethyst. It can sometimes be narrow but on occasion also a couple of mm wide. Therefore zoning is no evidence of natural stone.

 

[T L]

I no longer buy amethyst except from trusted dealers or faceters. The synthetic material is just too easy to pass off as natural. Never ever buy amethyst on ebay unless you absolutely know it to be a very reputable seller. I don't trust the overseas sellers as well when it comes to amethyst.