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Fakes & FraudsFake azurite?
10th Nov 2017 19:13 UTCAshley Wolf
I've registered on this site because I need your advice on this expensive piece of 'azurite' I bought. It was sold to me (total newbie in minerals) as a collector's quality stone.
Once I got home with it, it started bleeding colour onto my hands, and when I accidentally dropped it today, this is what I see underneath.
My question is: is this azurite, a diffferent type of mineral (not azurite) or could this be a coat of paint or what? I'm very lost!
10th Nov 2017 19:16 UTCAshley Wolf
10th Nov 2017 19:21 UTCWayne Corwin
You could try soaking one area in water and then acetone (nail polish remover) to see if it's a dye.
It looks odd to me, but report back with your findings.
10th Nov 2017 19:23 UTCScott Rider
10th Nov 2017 19:28 UTCJolyon Ralph Founder
10th Nov 2017 19:45 UTCAshley Wolf
Could you gentlemen look at this next picture and tell me if you think THIS is azurite?
10th Nov 2017 19:55 UTCWayne Corwin
10th Nov 2017 19:58 UTCAshley Wolf
Guess I'll be checking in regularly before I make any more purchases. Now that I've read up on your website, I should have been tipped off by the number of USD200 pieces of andara emeralds/sapphires she had. Just read here that that is just plain old coloured glass.
I'm going to go cry now. Thanks again everyone!
10th Nov 2017 19:59 UTCAshley Wolf
10th Nov 2017 20:09 UTCAshley Wolf
10th Nov 2017 20:12 UTCMatt Courville
See it as a positive - what if you had dropped a 'real piece' of nice azurite? ;)
10th Nov 2017 20:19 UTCAshley Wolf
10th Nov 2017 20:38 UTCOwen Lewis
Do please let us know how you get on.
10th Nov 2017 21:56 UTCDebbie Woolf Manager
10th Nov 2017 22:32 UTCOwen Lewis
But you are a wolf in sheep's clothing :-) One of your male relatives is/was a peer and legal luminary (Master of the Rolls)?
10th Nov 2017 23:46 UTCDave Owen
11th Nov 2017 02:10 UTCOwen Lewis
-------------------------------------------------------
> Your second photo looks like a fairly nice piece
> of Milpillas azurite. Did you buy that one too?
With minor malachite?
11th Nov 2017 05:56 UTCDoug Daniels
11th Nov 2017 09:16 UTCAshley Wolf
Yay, I showed the seller the comments here and she gave me an immediate refund and said she confronted her supplier. Apparently his answer was that azurite is so delicate, he grinds up the azurite and makes a reconstituted coating on limestone so that the healie-feelies (picked the term up here!) can hold it for meditation purposes. My reply was: you can sell whatever you like but full disclosure is necessary. This just isn't 'collector quality azurite'. I know everyone is going to shake their heads at this: it was USD190.
Yes, the second picture is what I've bought from
a seller in Arizona. It's supposed to be from Millipas (sp!). I haven't received it yet. I'm never buying another rock without checking here first.
Hello Debbie! You'll need to visit Switzerland. Plenty of Wolfs here.
Regards,
Ashley
11th Nov 2017 09:57 UTCAshley Wolf
The family is partially why I'm chasing a piece of azurite. It's supposed to have some sort of amazing energy, I want to make a gift of it at Christmas time.
And just randomly, here is a piece of fossil opal I picked up for my brother's present. It's so pretty I want to share it with you.
Ash
11th Nov 2017 13:42 UTCMatt Courville
If they don't match well, or if the seller does not give information about where the mineral comes from (the more specific the better) than pass on it unless it's dirt cheap;)
11th Nov 2017 14:47 UTCAshley Wolf
11th Nov 2017 14:55 UTCDave Owen
13th Nov 2017 10:34 UTCAshley Wolf
Just posting pictures of my new azurite. Looks great. All's well that ends well. Refund + new rock!
13th Nov 2017 14:59 UTCOwen Lewis
14th Nov 2017 13:14 UTCRolf Luetcke Expert
Just read the thread with interest. We have been in the mineral business for close to 50 years and have come across so many fakes in our time. Some I had to really study to be sure.
A close friend likes to purchase multi hundred dollar pieces he has not seen before. We looked one year at his new purchases and three were fakes. The people who fake the things are getting so much better at it that it takes a lot of experience to be sure on some. New manufactured quartz, fluorite, silvers and many more are hard for the beginner to tell.
Got a "galena geode" that a fellow had in his collection and had not seen anything like it before but many red flags went up. It was so dirty I put it through the sonic cleaner and when viewed under the microscope the glue used had become a bit soft and the crystals inside moved when pushed a bit. They did a heck of a nice job on it but it just didn't fit with what it was.
Ashley, it is all a learning experience and the friend who had three new fakes learned a valuable lesson and now looks into something he has not seen before plunking down the money.
Shame but on the internet there are a lot of fraudulent products out there and buyer beware is the key.
The second one is a nice piece, did well on that one, now only watch for price on things you purchase.
Welcome to a great site.
Rolf
6th Aug 2018 22:53 UTCHaley Middleton Ashley
7th Aug 2018 00:39 UTCWayne Corwin
First off... Welcome to Mindat !
Second... What did they claim it was?
Third... bring one of those 'wet-nap' packages with you and test before buying.
Of corse, this won't show everything,,, but eleminates some poor fakes on site.
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Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: April 19, 2024 16:04:10