Milfoil
05-12-2011, 23:16
Sharing this with you all (although you are probably aware of it already):
1. "Smelt Quartz" is commonly sold as a variety of quartz, especially from many eBay vendors. "Smelt Quartz" is not quartz at all -- it is common glass, which is made from melting quartz in the presence another compound (called a flux) which lowers the melting temperature. Glass is not crystalline, whereas quartz and other minerals (with few exceptions) are crystalline. Most people can't tell the difference, but glass is optically isotropic (doesn't polarize light) whereas quartz is anisotropic (polarizes light). Glass also has a lower density, which you might be able to detect by its heft, and "smelt quartz" usually has unnatural looking streaky patches in it. I have ordered many natural quartz crystals from eBay and haven't had any problems until recently. A vendor called zjpyxlzj077 sent me a fake quartz, unlike the real quartz pictured in the photo. "Smelt quartz" does not have any of the properties of true quartz, which is one of the main types of crystals used in shamanic healing.
2. "Master Shamanite" is a garden variety black limestone with a few fossils in it. Nothing about it, such as fossils or trace minerals like strontianite and zircon, is unusual. The commercial value of this stone is a few cents, but it is sold for 10's of dollars. Clearly a scam.
Edit: (meant to say that these are not my words but those of a Geology Prof from elsewhere on the net) The info was to be shared so is ok here.
Are there any other fancy names for 'scam' minerals out there that we know of?
1. "Smelt Quartz" is commonly sold as a variety of quartz, especially from many eBay vendors. "Smelt Quartz" is not quartz at all -- it is common glass, which is made from melting quartz in the presence another compound (called a flux) which lowers the melting temperature. Glass is not crystalline, whereas quartz and other minerals (with few exceptions) are crystalline. Most people can't tell the difference, but glass is optically isotropic (doesn't polarize light) whereas quartz is anisotropic (polarizes light). Glass also has a lower density, which you might be able to detect by its heft, and "smelt quartz" usually has unnatural looking streaky patches in it. I have ordered many natural quartz crystals from eBay and haven't had any problems until recently. A vendor called zjpyxlzj077 sent me a fake quartz, unlike the real quartz pictured in the photo. "Smelt quartz" does not have any of the properties of true quartz, which is one of the main types of crystals used in shamanic healing.
2. "Master Shamanite" is a garden variety black limestone with a few fossils in it. Nothing about it, such as fossils or trace minerals like strontianite and zircon, is unusual. The commercial value of this stone is a few cents, but it is sold for 10's of dollars. Clearly a scam.
Edit: (meant to say that these are not my words but those of a Geology Prof from elsewhere on the net) The info was to be shared so is ok here.
Are there any other fancy names for 'scam' minerals out there that we know of?