Let’s talk about new fakes + misconceptions in the market recently, specifically around Blue Rose Quartz.
If you’ve been struggling with working with your crystals effectively, knowing how to avoid misrepresentations, fakes, and CONFUSION will make you much more self-assured. Avoiding the “Fakes”, mistakes or misrepresentations will turn that struggle around —
and keep you from wasting time with fakes that don’t even work or may not be what you think it is. No wonder you’re not getting consistent results!! Buying into this stuff ends up wasting your energy and a ton of money too.
I can’t say it enough…
I’m so grateful to our Hibiscus Moon Certified Crystal Practitioner students who bring this stuff to my attention! (That’s how I keep my finger on the pulse of this crystal misrep-stuff.)
It’s been my gig all along this crystal journey — to point out that there seemed to be a bit of an info-gap in our crystal community on some good, solid, easy-to-understand data regarding this sort of thing.
Being a former science department head, having studied geology at the Masters’s level, and being a crystal author plus the founder of the Hibiscus Moon Crystal Academy, with a relatively large following gives me a good reason and platform to educate about crystal fakes.
My goal is to educate our crystal community on what’s currently fooling us or being misrepresented on the market so we can make intelligent buying decisions. If you feel passionate about this, too, please share this post in any way you prefer. (By the way, there are some “SHARE” buttons you can use below).
Alright, let’s dig into what I consider to be a MAJOR misrepresentation:
GROUND RULES: Please do not call out any sellers in the comments. No names, no links. Please do not show hate towards anyone. This is about empowering and educating ourselves. ❤️
Blue Rose Quartz
What in the HELL?
Yep. Here we go.
It all started when I had a rash of my CCP students asking me about this “new” Blue Rose Quartz popping up everywhere on the market.
It’s supposedly “Blue Rose Quartz” from Madagascar.
Thank you to Graphic Designer and Faculty, Alexis from Team HM for sharing these pictures of “blue rose quartz” with us
I did some poking around my usual geology haunts/clubs and found out it’s also sometimes dubbed as “Girasol,” opalized Quartz. (Opal starts out as silica [SiO2] dissolved in water. When the silica solution fills an empty pocket, maybe left behind by something that dissolved away long ago — just like Jell-o poured into a mold; it can harden to form an opalized copy of the original.).
Did ya know?: This whole opalizing process can be lab-forced too.
This could also be the result of heating a low-grade Amethyst above 932°F (500°C) which not only bleaches it out (yes, we’ve done experiments, and you can try it too) but can result in an opal-y, milky look, resulting in so-called ‘neon blue quartz’ or just “neon quartz”.
Even higher heat will bleach out the lilac color completely, and tiny water droplets may form in the quartz, which is what creates opal, aka Girasol.
Girasol
However, using the term “Girasol” gets a bit confusing.
In Italian, the word refers to a “turning sun” and directly translates to “sunflower” (cuz, ya know… it turns with the sunlight). Now in geology, this refers to an opal stone with a cloudy bluish-white glow, a ghost-like effect caused by light scattering. Gems such as Moonstone and opals, and other types of feldspars can exhibit this phenomenon. It’s characterized by a luminous reflection of light, appearing as white or colored (often bluish) light, and it may also occur as a shimmery sheen that can only be observed in specific directions — caused by the diffraction and interference of light. The girasol effect describes a mineral effect produced by a scattered light effect that moves or appears to shimmer.
Moonstone pendants display the “girasol effect.”
I noticed that some of what’s being referenced as “Blue Rose Quartz” is technically a bluish-white translucent Opal/Girasol or perhaps mixed with some mottled form of lower-grade hazy Quartz with sometimes reddish or rainbow reflections.
SIDENOTE: This stuff always existed. It’s not new!
Lilac or Lavender Rose Quartz?
Photo courtesy of CCP Amber Curl of Little Crystal Company
Whether they use the descriptive color “lilac” or “lavender,” I see this stuff most often being touted as “high-quality.” Let’s get into that a bit.
As I mentioned above, strong heating will bleach out the lilac color completely from a low-grade Amethyst or milky Quartz and yield tiny water droplets forming in the Quartz = Girasol. *sigh*
Little Lemuria, (owned by ultra-phenomenally smart proprietor Jessica Watson, who I got to have several geo-geek discussions with while talking about this topic) had a geological assay report done on the material that they had. You can check that out here.
BTW, do you have ANY idea how impressed I am by this sort of dedication?
Back in the day, we used to have a grading system that was in common use with stone sellers (it’s still around but I don’t see it being used that much any longer. Hmmmm? Wonder why that is?) This grading system’s very similar to how diamonds are assessed and assigned letters. For instance, “AAA” is the highest grade while “D” is the lowest.
Is it Lilac or Lavender Rose Quartz? This is a stone I sold in my Etsy crystal shop back in 2009. I labeled it as Pale Amethyst; D maybe C grade at best!
Sometimes, it’s not even crystal but just straight-up glass.
I’m just gonna say it:
This, for the most part, is D low-grade Rose Quartz! In my humble opinion: it seems obviously more lucrative to forgo the grading system and rename it something “spiritual/ethereal”!
Above is Certified Crystal Practitioner Amber Curl of Little Crystal Company communicating with me back and forth on Instagram about this very issue. Look at her go!!! I’m so proud.
Before we go any further… please allow me to clarify: when I say that it’s low-grade rose quartz, I don’t mean that I wouldn’t work with it or that I personally consider it less than. I’m trying to convey that this used to be considered by the stone-selling industry as a lower-quality of rose quartz (or perhaps amethyst) based on industry standards. That does NOT mean that it delivers less joy or energetic impact in any way as I discussed on IG here:
(If you’d rather consume this whole “Blue Rose Quartz” rant in a sorta humorous InstaStory that I’ve become famous for, I’ve created a Highlight for you here.)
CCP, Amber Curl of Little Crystal Company
I knew she was one of our Hibiscus Moon students without even knowing who this was at first. I could tell just by how flippin’ dedicated she was to figuring this out. 😉 Our Crystal Family is known for not letting this junk get passed them!
Black Rose Quartz. Ummmm… What the Heck is Happening Here?
Yeah. There’s a “Black and Blue” Rose Quartz too!
@AbbyHasHeart shared this with me. What was sold to her as Black Rose Quartz on the left and what was sold to her as Lavender Rose Quartz on the right.
If this is what we’re OK with doing and we don’t try to stop it now, as I mentioned above…
we can expect at least a thousand more marketing names for various Quartz colors in the near future.
And it won’t ever stop.
Are you OK with that?
Metaphysical Properties of this Material
Well, what about the energetic characteristics of this material?
I did however work with the old stock of “lower-grade” rose quartz and amethyst when I had it and to me, it was just as powerful as my other rose quartz or amethyst with slight nuances, as is the case with ANY individual stones I work with. So this is really something you need to decide for yourself.
But, we’ve made an impact.
Since my popular fake blog post series that I started back in 2010 (and many others like it)… our community started calling this shit out, and sellers immediately started changing their descriptions. This is the impact our Crystal Family has had. THIS is how a group of empowered go-to crystal experts makes change happen. Certainly, first-world problems, but you gotta start somewhere, right?
We’ve got to stay on our toes. I’m passing the torch to you on this stuff! OK? I’m not going to be around next year at all. It’s now up to our Crystal Family to keep the fakes fires burning.
My Blue (or any other color other than pink) Rose Quartz Conclusion?
It’s sleight of hand trickery, a gimmicky marketing name to sell stuff fashioned from a relatively (formerly considered unattractive) low-quality quality quartz — a marketing ploy.
Now whether we consider it attractive or not, I don’t care. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.
What I’m up in arms about is that this was always relatively abundant and sold cheaply before. Is it right to just state that it no longer is and, therefore, falsely inflate the price?
By definition, Rose Quartz is a pink form of Quartz due to particular nanofibrous inclusions of something closely related to dumortierite.
But all that geo-speak is splitting hairs anyway. Rose Quartz is Quartz.
If it’s blue (or any other color other than pink to your eyeball ️), it cannot be called Rose Quartz.
To me, if the pink hue is not there, it’s not Rose Quartz. End of story.
As always…
Buyer Beware: Who are you buying from? Are they reputable? Do they know what they’re talking about? Is the price too good to be true? Are you doing your own due diligence + research? The best way to protect yourself is through education. Keep this in mind: Always use your common sense. Don’t simply rely on what the seller is telling you.
I just want us all to have the geo-knowledge first. Then you can make a well-informed decision regarding how you choose to work with these stones. Always use your common sense, and the best protection from this is to be well-informed.
We all love the beautiful jewels that Mama Earth creates, and you don’t know what you don’t know…
until you know better.
So, I hope you’ve learned something new here today. If you feel passionate about this too please share this post in any way you prefer. (***There are some handy “SHARE” buttons you can use at the bottom of this post***).
Do you have any fake-out or misrepresentations stories to tell? Please post below to help us all out! Or have you seen any of these examples recently?
REMINDER: Do not call out any sellers in the comments, please. No names, no links. Please do not show hate to anybody and remember to be kind here and everywhere. This is about empowering and educating ourselves. ❤️
Please share your experiences in the comments below.
Crystal Blessings,
Do you have some sellers that you particularly recommend as ethical and good?
Liana, please watch my IG stories for online recommendations. If you’re a student in HMCA, we have regular posts about this in our FB Group. And lastly, I highly recommend an in-person gem show. 🙂
Is pink zebra stone real?
It is a type of jasper. Not to say though that jasper is never faked. Just make sure you test to make sure it’s a real jasper.
I have read that “black rose quartz” is made from irradiating inferior rose quartz. It’s kind of cool looking, but I like crystals that aren’t too tampered with. On a side note, how safe are crystals that have been irradiated?
I’ve heard that’s the case too with the black variety. Please take a look at my blog post on irradiated stones here: https://hibiscusmoon.com/more-crystal-fakes/
Thank you for this, i have a small shop that i sell crystals in and i am learning so much, i do get mine from a reputable source and someone who is very knowledgable and loves rocks haha i do sell some ‘enhanced’ crystals in my store, the extra shiny ‘auras’ etc but i make sure that i am up front and honest with the customer that it is not naturally occuring. So blogs like this really help xxx
Thank you, Lauren! IMHO, you’re doing a great service and job!! ♥
I read that “Blue Rose Quartz” was quartz that looked blue because of the way the light hit it. I have some in my shop that looks pale pink until you put it up into the light and it turns the bluish color. Thank you for the true explanation about what it is. I love being able to tell my customers the truth about what they are purchasing from me.
Yep, it seems that’s the case, but sometimes it looks blue no matter what light it’s under. Seems like some are being very willy-nilly with the naming here. And its the pricing that has me concerned.
Almost every live I’ve seen coming from China “the crystal capital of the world” (not my words) are selling lavender and black rose quartz. The very first time I saw this I right away wondered how it could be considered rose quartz. Blows my mind.
I think OFFICIALLY this qualifies as an oxymoron. LOL!
None of the links to your IG account work for me. I am formally known as wanda1224 on IG. I was hacked. I made a new account wa_nda3197. I cannot find you anywhere on IG. I do not have a FB account any longer, deleted a long time ago. Can you find me on IG? I will post my pic that I showed you (from 2013) of my lilac quartz.
Wanda!! I was wondering what happened to you. I just found your new account and followed it. Can you see me now?
As always, thank you for sharing this important information!
Its what I live for, Colleen! ♥
I myself have not bought any blue rose Quartz but have seen them advertised here & there. My red flags went up immediately, but I never looked into it, as I wasn’t purchasing any. Thank took HM for this info.
I’m so glad you spoke about different types of Rose Quartz, as I love it and have a few pieces in my collection. What are your thoughts on Lunar Rose Quartz? Would that still fall under the Rose Quartz family? Is that the correct name for it? I bought two pieces of it last year and I’m enjoying working with it. I bought it from a fairly reputable crystal shop and the pieces came from Namibia. I’m curious to know more after reading about so many fake names and crystals. Thanks
If you have a quartz of any shape and accidentally fall in the floor it will break in pieces or not? Fake quartz will break or not?
Thanks
After reading this, I’m still unclear about what exactly the blue and lavender “rose Quartz “ actually is.
I did buy some “blue rose Quartz” from Madagascar at the Denver Show. I want to be transparent about what it is so I can let my customers know.
Thank you as always for the information ????
I’ve seen lavender/grey Rose Quartz being sold as lunar Quartz. I did wonder…
I’m actually searching (have been for years) for some nice samples of genuine Blue and Green Quartz. Sneaky marketing tricks like these Black and Blue Rose Quartz, and the infamous Green Amethyst just make my search harder. If only more vendors were willing to be honest and straightforward with their customers. They’d get more repeat sales. On the other hand, I’m a firm believer in Color Magic. So if the pretty bauble makes you happy, then enjoy it!
We just bought a very pretty piece of what the seller said it is called “Green Quartz” but, he did told us it has been treated in order to get the green from it.
Some years ago, I bought a purpely coloured crystal they called ‘ Madagascan Rose Quartz’
Yes, it definitely looks more purple than the many other Rose Quartz stones I own, but, now I’m
actually wondering if it’s been ‘interfered with in any way, or if infact is truly IS a genuine Madagascan Rose Quarz crystal..?
It wasn’t cheap, but it IS a really large crystal.
So now, the question is… ” Is it REALLY a Madagascan Rose Quartz’ crystal, or has it been dyed or something else, and conveniently re-named and highly priced due to some ‘ fiddling about’ with it?
Hmm…
thank you for this topic, I needed to refresh and I love that the owner of little lemuria has that connection to do some testing. I love the so called ” Blue Rose Quartz” I actually carry one with me and I love the energy, for me its a soft calming energy, sort of like the rose quartz. I like to add that it also opens me up and not keep in a shell. Like I speak my mind but respectful. Thank you again for this blog for me to refer back too.