Glass, resin or quartz?

Awhile ago someone bought me this clear quartz pendulum, and I've never really used it, but I'm starting to have my doubts, I think it may be glass or resin and the shop has lied to her, but I'm unsure..
So it has no faults on the inside, but some smaller pieces don't, right. also it is not nearly as cold as my other quartz when I pick it up, and well that's the main reason I'm thinking it might not be quartz, it is also very perfect, but I know that's not unusual for cut crystals, it just seems a bit too perfect.. Anyway I wouldn't mind if it was glass, but I just would like to know. So does anyone know how to tell, or if they can tell from my description,thanks

You could ask it It's a pendulum, right? You could ask "is the pendulum I am using at this moment made from clear quartz ?" wait for a yes/no response and ask the same question for glass or resin.

I have a clear quart pendulum that is very clear and without fractures, but it feels like quartz to me. I don't know that resin would look so clear? Glass is possible. I know I bought what was meant to be a large blue obsidian sphere once, and it was really just a very expensive, quite pretty, glass ball

Thanks, that's a great idea, I should of thought of that earlier how annoying with your obsidian ball, though I suppose it is still a piece of beauty

Out of curiosity, can you post a photo of it?

Incidentally, when I have needed to get a REALLY clear tactile sensation of something, I've touched it to my lips. That's one of the most sensitive parts of the human body. So along with handling it with your fingers, don't neglect other ways of building up a tactile impression of the pendulum.

Glass has internal ripples or wave patterns (sometimes we need a magnifying glass or a loupe t spot them) that quartz won't have. Not sure about what patterns resin might have that would give a visual clue.

Glass can also have tiny air bubbles within it, something that quartz is highly unlikely to have. (Rare is the piece of quartz with a bubble or an enhydro (water-filled bubble) within it, and the price tag shoots way up when the quartz has that kind of inclusion within it).

linnie said:

I have a clear quart pendulum that is very clear and without fractures, but it feels like quartz to me. I don't know that resin would look so clear? Glass is possible. I know I bought what was meant to be a large blue obsidian sphere once, and it was really just a very expensive, quite pretty, glass ball

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I hear you on the blue obsidian. I got a few spheres (one good-sized one and two small ones) of what was listed as "green volcanic glass". The site in question sells primarily gemstone spheres, so I figured that this fit that category.

WAY later, I discovered that it's legal to call something "volcanic glass" if you take manmade glass and add volcanic ash to it. That is very different from what I THOUGHT I was getting: natural volcanic glass that was formed by the abrupt cooling of molten rock. Grumble.

Well, like your blue obsidian sphere, my green "obsidian" spheres are pleasing to the eye, at least. They're nice to look at, and therefore make a nice scrying tool. I'm really Not Amused about the law permitting the same phrase to be used for a natural substance AND a manmade one, though. I haven't picked anything up from that particular site since that time. I do my best to do my homework on stones I'm unfamiliar with, but I didn't find that bit of info listed anywhere until literally years after I made the purchase.

So for those of you who see a pretty specimen and think, "Wow, clear, light-colored volcanic glass", be aware that it's legal to call certain types of manmade glass by that name. Then only spend your funds on it if you really want manmade glass with some natural substance added to it.

That sounds really annoying shelikes2read, I wouldn't buy from them either, knowing that they mislead their customers.

Anyway here's a photo of my pendulum
http://s1327.beta.photobucket.com/user/Anifeiliaid/media/image_zpsde3914f1.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

Well, it certainly looks like a piece of clear quartz. Very pretty! I'm especially enamored of things that fill with light, and this absolutely fits the bill.

One of the things that springs to my mind is to wonder what the cost of materials like resin and glass would be, as opposed to just getting a natural piece of quartz (or lab-grown quartz) and shaping it. Both glass and resin would involve extra labor, as those materials would have to be fabricated by human hands first. So would it be cost-effective to pay for the materials and labor to make a pendulum out of either of those materials, and try to pass it off as quartz, as opposed to just obtaining a quartz stone and reshaping it? If not, then that kind of skews the odds in favor of this being a legitimate quartz stone.

It looks like it has a design incised around the top? Does it have a chain?

IMHO - it looks so perfect that I wonder if it was 'poured', not shaped.

I suppose your right shelikes2read I don't think there would be much incentive labelling glass or resin as quartz seeing as its not expensive anyway. And yes it does have a chain it's just a bit hard to see in the picture

Don't underestimate the possibility of faking crystals. Glass is often passed off as Quartz. I have seen fakes from China that look so real, you really could pass it off as genuine. I was at a store in the mall last week and spied some nice looking polished Clear Quartz points and pendulums. The price and the "made in China" sticker were the first clues. The points were glass and the pendulums were plastic. Temperature fluctuations, clarity, weight, and flaws are a good indicator of a genuine vs. a fake piece. Fakes tend to be too perfect. I have around 90 pendulums at the moment and each is different. All have a flaw or something that is unique to each one. We simply can't tell from the picture, but I'd go back to the store and look at the others. Ask who the supplier was or what was the country of origin. Most retailers are on the level and would be willing to at least check into it. The store I mentioned did not know they were selling glass. It was a "good deal" they got and were quite surprised to find out. At least raise the question.