6 Best Ways to Tell if Obsidian Jewelry is Real or Fake
How do you spot obsidian Jewelry real or fake?
Wearing a bracelet, necklace, or ring crafted from obsidian not only enhances your appearance but also carries deep significance.
Obsidian jewelry offers several benefits, including protection and healing properties, making it highly desirable.
However, the popularity of obsidian has led to the circulation of fake versions. Some unscrupulous individuals attempt to pass off materials like glass or other black stones such as onyx and jet as genuine obsidian. To avoid being deceived, it's crucial to know how to distinguish authentic obsidian from imitations.
Here’s how you can identify real obsidian:
How to Tell if Obsidian is Real or Fake
While polished well, other gemstones can resemble obsidian. A professional using a microscope can accurately distinguish real obsidian jewelry from other materials. However, distinguishing by naked eye alone can be challenging.
To increase your chances of identifying authentic obsidian, consider the following when making a purchase:
- General Appearance: Obsidian is an igneous rock formed from rapidly cooled molten lava, giving it a distinct shiny and glassy appearance.
- Texture: As volcanic glass, obsidian feels smooth to the touch.
- Color: Typically dark due to magnesium and iron, obsidian can also appear in shades of green, brown, tan, and occasionally white, yellow, orange, red, or blue. Different colors result from inclusions, impurities, or trace elements.
- Translucency: Hold the obsidian up to sunlight. Genuine black obsidian, being volcanic glass imbued with fiery energy, may exhibit occasional translucency.
- Price: Unprocessed obsidian typically costs between $5 to $10. Polished obsidian commands a higher price. Suspiciously low prices may indicate the piece is not genuine black obsidian.
By examining these characteristics, you can enhance your ability to identify real obsidian jewelry and avoid purchasing imitations.
Examine Color and Iridescence
Obsidian typically appears in black, gray, and occasionally banded formations with brown streaks. Varieties with prominent green, blue, or red hues are the rarest.
Beware of tinted, man-made glass masquerading as these rare types of obsidian. If you encounter a rock claiming to be one of these rare obsidian types at a low price, it is likely counterfeit.
Authentic obsidian displays some form of iridescence, a feature challenging to capture in photographs. Naturally occurring obsidian never appears as a solid mass of plain black glass.
- Genuine obsidian will often exhibit shades of gold, silver, blue, violet, or green beneath its black surface, caused by minute bubble inclusions that reflect light.
Real obsidian, especially when carved, will never be perfectly black.
- When purchasing obsidian, examine the piece under sunlight to identify areas showing colors beyond black.
- You can also wet the obsidian and rotate it to catch reflections of the underlying colors beneath its glassy surface.
- Finding multiple colors within your obsidian suggests you have acquired a higher-quality piece.
Identify Inclusions in Obsidian
Inclusions refer to minerals trapped inside a mineral during its formation process.
Naturally occurring obsidian always forms in the presence of various minerals found in the Earth's crust, resulting in distinct traces of these minerals.
Identifying inclusions in real obsidian is straightforward: hold the rock in your palm and observe it closely.
- Authentic obsidian typically contains elongated, torpedo-shaped, round, or teardrop-shaped bubbles.These bubbles can be observed in parallel arrangements under a microscope.
- If your obsidian exhibits needle-like inclusions that give it a silvery sheen, it is likely genuine.
- Snowflake obsidian, for instance, features protogenic silica minerals that crystallize inside the obsidian, resembling white snowflakes on its surface. This variety is widely used in jewelry, crafted into beads and cabochons.
Another popular type, Apache tears, is prized for its rounded, pebble-like appearance, making it suitable for jewelry and healing practices. Unlike other dark obsidian varieties, Apache tears retain a vitreous luster even in their rock-like form.
Distinguishing real Apache tears from common black rocks is straightforward: authentic Apache tears always exhibit a glassy finish, unlike the chalky or matte appearance of ordinary black minerals.
In summary, genuine obsidian showcases colored inclusions combined with a glassy luster, while fake obsidian lacks these characteristics, appearing dull or chalky in comparison.
Perform a Hardness Test on Obsidian
In gemology, a hardness test is crucial for determining the chemical composition of minerals and distinguishing them from imitation materials.
However, when it comes to obsidian, a natural volcanic glass, relying solely on its hardness rating can be misleading. Both natural obsidian and synthetic glass typically register a hardness of 5 on the Mohs scale. Therefore, using the Mohs scale alone to verify the authenticity of obsidian can be risky and may not provide conclusive evidence of its originality.
Examine the Surface Fractures
Instead, you can identify genuine obsidian by observing its unique visual and physical characteristics. If your specimen exhibits a rind or film over its surface, it's a promising sign that the glass formed naturally.
This rind forms due to the conchoidal fracturing typical of real obsidian. Conchoidal fracture describes the way minerals break with smooth, curved surfaces resembling shells or glass. These fractures appear as concentric curved lines on the surface of the material.
Evaluate the Structure and Size
Obsidian possesses an amorphous crystal structure. This means that upon visual inspection, you won't discern individual crystal faces protruding from the rock.
Authentic obsidian typically resembles smooth, solidified liquid—akin to cooled lava. It originates from the rapid cooling of felsic lava, often ejected in rounded masses during volcanic eruptions. This process results in obsidian forming as small shards or fine, hair-like filaments.
Obsidian fragments vary widely in size, ranging from microscopic particles to pieces several inches across. Larger obsidian specimens are uncommon and therefore more valuable. Be cautious if offered large, cuboidal masses of black glass, as they are likely imitations.
Find the Origin of Obsidian
Determining the Authenticity of Obsidian by Examining its Origin
A reliable method to verify the authenticity of obsidian is to inquire about its origin.
Obsidian is exclusively found in volcanic regions, with significant deposits located in the United States, particularly around volcanic areas in Mexico, Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah. Before the advent of iron and aluminum, obsidian served as a crucial material akin to steel for many indigenous communities inhabiting these regions prior to colonization.
Getting a Real Obsidian Jewelry
Beware of counterfeit obsidian stones, as they won't offer the genuine benefits that real black obsidian provides.
To ensure you're receiving authentic obsidian jewelry without any concerns, it's essential to purchase from a reliable source.
At Supreme Mantra, we specialize in offering only genuine obsidian jewelry. As a trusted provider of feng shui cures and charms, we meticulously select and offer handcrafted items that enhance healing, empower, protect, attract abundance, and promote grounding.
Wrapping Up
Identifying a genuine obsidian piece among imitations and similar stones can indeed be tricky, but we trust this guide has provided some clarity.
Always inspect obsidian carefully before purchasing and stick to trusted stores to ensure authenticity.
Ready to experience the benefits? Purchase your authentic black obsidian jewelry today and invite healing, abundance, and protection into your life!
Related Posts:
