Yep, we’ve got more Crystal Fakes and misrepresentations to go over today.
Once again…
I’m so grateful to my Certified Crystal Practitioner students who bring this stuff to my attention! (That’s usually how I keep my finger on the pulse of this crystal fakes stuff.)
Several years ago I noted 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.
Informing our community on this topic has become yet another passion of mine. 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.
Yep, I feel it’s my duty and I’m honored to be given the opportunity and privilege to serve in this way.
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 handy-dandy “SHARE” buttons you can use below).
Alright, let’s dig into some fakes and/misrepresentations here:
North Stone
I think this one is a goner before I even got to do any reporting on it. But just in case you run into this, let’s dive in…
The claim: “Discover the amazing North Stone and learn how you can re-balance your life in style. The most magnetic stone ever!” Also, they’re claiming they’re “lucky charms” that will attract all sorts of good juju to you.
From what I can tell it’s a straight-up lodestone given a new fancy-schmancy name. ***Ooooof! That irks me!*** Lodestone is made of iron and magnetite, which is ferromagnetic (that just means it’s magnetic).
OK, I just checked, and at this time, it’s no longer available (like… people are making it sound as if it’s been “mined out!!”)
Yeah, OK.
And if you try to visit the site where they were selling it online… my browser gives me all sorts of warnings so I’m not going there and I’m not going to link you to it either.
So I wonder what happened there?
Hmmm?
The Verdict
In speaking to those who’ve purchased the above and tested it; as I suspected —
it’s just regular lodestone that someone slapped a fancier name onto and decided to sell tiny nugget pendants for $100. Don’t fall for it!
Silica (in quartz), Silicon, Silicon Healing Crystal — Crystal Fakes?
This is more about clearing up some major confusion and misconceptions:
There are now man-made crystals known as silicon crystals, Terahertz Stone, or “Silicon Valley” crystals. If you’re fine with them being man-made and working with them energetically then you can skip this section.
But if you really need some clarity around this… c’mon, let’s go.
Clear quartz is made of SiO2 aka silica (one molecule of Silicon and two molecules of Oxygen). So, NO — silicon DOES NOT EQUAL Quartz. It’s a component element of quartz just like oxygen is.
Clear quartz
Now, many of our devices and electronics (smartphones, TVs, laptops, etc.) have transistors and circuit chips made of silicon semiconductors. You can geek out on that here.
Also, please note; I’m saying “silicon” not “silicone“. (click on those links if you want to hear them pronounced correctly). There’s a difference, although, I hear and see many using these two very different terms interchanagably. Silicone (as in silicone boobs) is a man-made substance derived from silicon. Big difference. 😉
Silicon doesn’t occur naturally EVER EVER by itself, as seen here below.
A piece of man-made purified silicon. As it never occurs naturally by itself.
In its natural state, left to its own devices… it’s ALWAYS bonded to other elements.
It needs us to FORCE it to be all by itself.
Manmade monocrystalline silicon ingot and several silicon rods on display in the Museum of Mineralogy in Munich. This is what computer silicon chips are made from, not from quartz.
Silicon microchip on human finger’s tip
Unfortunately, many incorrectly regurgitate on the internet and even in some books (!!) that — our electronic devices operate on straight-up quartz.
NO. That is not clear nor is it accurate.
However, when we DO use silicon for our devices, we do derive it from quartz, which, again, is silicon dioxide (SiO2). You can find out exactly HOW they do that here.
And if you’re ready to shift into EXTRA GEEK Mode with me? This archived Bell Labs video from 1983 beautifully explains how the silicon microchips are created from quartz sand:
So glad we got that straightened out. 😉
Yeah?
Vogel® Crystals or Vogel-cut® Crystal — Possible Crystal Fakes?
OK, I’m asked about these all the time.
These are man-cut/polished and named after and the very specific crystal cut that was invented by Marcel Vogel, a research scientist working at IBM.
The late Marcel Vogel claimed that once these clear quartz crystals were cut to his very precise specifications, they were able to:
- accumulate
- store
- amplify
- transmute
- entrain energy
As you can see from the above symbols, a true Vogel-cut® crystal is also a trademarked item. And since Mr. Vogel’s passing, very few proper and authentic Vogel-trained cutters exist and some are even stealing the trademark. So you need to BEWARE of who you’re getting these from.
What’s so Special about a True Vogel®?
According to Mr. Vogel, they must have a precise crystal faceted shape cut by hand in a sacred manner, precisely emulating the Great Pyramid of Giza angle (with the broad “female “end cut to exactly 51.82˚).
The crystal cutter also has to be specially trained in following Vogel’s very specific process instructions. No machine can emulate that! Marcel Vogel himself stated that the incorrectly cut or inauthentic crystals don’t have near the power or energy of an authentic Vogel-cut. Due to what’s involved in creating a true Vogel, as you can imagine, they are quite expensive.
I’ve found some supposed “Vogels” not even cut from clear quartz but, instead, carved of glass!
Where are the Authentic Vogel Cut Crystals?
This link will lead you to the ONLY official Vogel distributor that I’m aware of. (Doesn’t mean that’s the ONLY one. It’s the only one I’m aware of that has not counterfeited or scammed people. Yeah, I myself have been scammed.) You can also learn lots more about Vogels® on that site. 🙂
Often, some sellers will title their fake Vogel as “Vogel-style” to which I say,
What’s the point? (pun always intended).
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 yourself.
And 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.
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 stories to tell? Please post below to help us all out! Or have you seen any of these crystal fakes or misrepresentations recently?
Please share your experiences in the comments below! We’d all love to know!
Crystal Blessings,
Good article. Luckily I hadn’t heard of North Stone or Silicon as a crystal. However, a long time ago I found Luminary Studios from an Internet search and ordered a genuine Vogel. Drew studied under Marcel Vogel and his son, and definitely subscribes to Marcel Vogel’s technique.
Good going on doing your due diligence!
Mined out Lodestones? ????
These trademarked names make me sad. I have customers asking for certificates of authenticity sometimes regarding a certain fire quartz, which is, in reality, an extremely common and inexpensive hematoid quartz from Madagascar. Also, anyone can print up a certificate of authenticity, unfortunately…
I understand that perfect Vogels are just that when it comes to energy and the power of the tools- perfect and precise- amplifying the perfection of the atomic structure of the crystal itself. But, even when not perfect, isn’t the vogel shape still powerful as a tool? Like cut and polished generators? Just not as powerful as the original? Or is it simply a cut and polished DT with 24 sides?
I know… crazy, right?
<> I can only speak from my experience and I’ve found that those that aren’t authentic do not have near the power if any.
Is there a way to know the difference between a clear quartz vogel and cut glass?
Well, I explained what to look for in a Vogel in this blog post and over here I explain how to tell the difference between quartz and glass: https://hibiscusmoon.com/spotting-crystal-fakes-frauds/
While in general I rarely work with man-made stones, I do like the energy of Silicon, frequently marketed as Terahertz. It was a reputable dealer who never marketed it as anything but man-made, so I knew what I was getting.
Andrea, if you’re lovin’ it, keep on truckin’ 😀
Oh, I was gifted with 3 beautiful Terahertz Stones from a seller who said they are man-made when I asked about them (because I had never heard of Terahertz Stone). I didn’t realize this was another name for the Silicon you mentioned. I work with man-made stones and have no problem with them, as long as I know they’re man-made. I would not be happy if I bought a fake that was being sold as an authentic crystal. I try to learn all the different names for a crystal so if it’s sold as one name but I bought it under a different name, I like to know that I already have that one, and note the different names in my documentation. So I’m glad to know that Terahertz Stone can be sold as either this name or Silicon.
Deanna, and I just learned from you and Andrea that it also is called by this name. Updating the blog post now! Thank you.
Does a Vogel crystal need to be clear quartz crystal? I have been seeing ads for amethyst and obsidian Vogel’s. Pretty sure these are fakes due to the price, under $100.
Yes, it should be clear quartz.
HM
I just wanted to say thank you for all the classes I have taken! Crystal and how to identify was the most important classes I took. And your wonderful Team as well they were so helpful for me.
You’ve kind of gone to the other extreme with the quartz/silicon in electronics debate. Quartz is piezoelectric (it generates electricity in response to mechanical pressure), while pure silicon is not. Quartz is why we can have electronic clocks, and most digital devices require some kind of clock function, even if it isn’t obvious to the casual user.
I’ve seen what appears to be (many!) red beryl fakes on Etsy and ebay, given the low cost and source listings. As far as I’m aware, the only commercial grade for red beryl comes out of the Wa Wa mountains in Utah (and those are pricey!). Hibiscus Moon – do you know of other legitimate sources from which to purchase red beryl? Thank you!
I’ve been trying to figure out Phoenix Stone. I think that’s a trade name as well. I’ve seen that listed as chrysocolla, but others say not. Any ideas?
Can a food like honey be infused with the properties from crystals? If so, how does that work? Do you set the jar on a flat stone or can it be touching the food directly? Please advise if you have any advice on this . Thanks, Ann.
I love your blog and the crystals you feature, It’s fascinating to learn about the symbolism and tradition behind these special North Stone.
I have looked at the site https://www.vogelcutcrystals.com
Does anyone know if they are legit?