How to distinguish a real cacholong?

Jade, sultanite, malachite, onyx – nowadays you will see more fakes under these names than natural beads. Unfortunately, more and more unscrupulous sellers are appearing – some due to their incompetence and insufficient level of knowledge, some, in order to make more profit, sell their cheaper analogues and imitations under the guise of expensive stones. In this article we will talk about the most common imitations on the market for ornamental stones today and show how to determine the authenticity of a stone.

1. Sultanite.

The most popular stone in terms of counterfeiting is now sultanite (also known as diaspora or zultanite), beads and products with which have filled not only Turkish shops, but also Russian shops. But you need to understand that this is a very rare, expensive stone, and therefore products with natural sultanites are piece items, not serial products. Sultanites are extremely rarely pure and transparent; more often they contain many nebulae and inclusions; almost colorless crystals are also found. Natural specimens are olive green; depending on the type and brightness of lighting, they change color to orange-green or pinkish-green. Sultanite has a pronounced alexandrite effect – olive and blue-green notes appear under artificial light, and pink and lilac shades are visible under sunlight. The shine of the stone is glassy, ​​with pearlescent reflections. To meet demand, natural sultanite is not only replaced with synthetic one, but also fake glass is actively sold. Imitations made of glass are brighter, and when the lighting changes, they change color more than natural ones (for example, a radical change in color from green to red or orange is possible). Such synthetic “stones” do not have microcracks and mineral inclusions, “nebula” and cleavage. Also, the price of laboratory stones is quite high due to complex growing technologies, which cannot be said about glass fakes. Natural diaspore (zultanite) They have long learned to make color-changing glass by adding a mixture of rare earth element oxides to the glass mass. For example, a well-known Austrian company makes glass beads and inserts using this technology. The technology is simple and there are now many fakes on the market for alexandrites and sultanites with a characteristic color change when the lighting changes. All glass “stones” are the same shade, clean, transparent, have no inclusions, and there are some air bubbles. The color change is obvious and the same for all beads. The most common fakes of sultanite now.

2. Aqua-quartz and other colored glass in pieces and cut

You’ve probably seen clear, bright, matte beads in pieces and cuts sold as aqua quartz. It is popular, especially in summer, as the beads are colorful and large, but in fact it is ordinary glass. To determine whether it is glass or painted beads of quartz or chalcedony, take a closer look at the beads – natural stone will retain its texture and may contain internal inclusions, while glass will be absolutely monochromatic, while maintaining the texture of broken glass. On the left is “aqua-quartz”, on the right is apatite, which it imitates externally It is also worth clarifying that in nature there are no such shades of either quartz or chalcedony. It is always the work of human hands. Such glass is sold painted in different colors that are not typical for natural samples. On the left is “aqua-quartz”, on the right is fluorite, which it externally imitates If such quartz does not exist in nature, then what can imitate such glass? For example, raw garnet, aquamarine or apatite. On the left is painted glass, on the right is natural garnet

3. Volcanic or cherry quartz

Another glass posing as quartz is pink glass with streaks, which unscrupulous sellers call “cherry quartz.” What you should pay attention to is the hardness (quartz is very difficult to scratch), the unnatural color of the product in fakes indicates its synthetic origin and imitation. If we assume that you bought natural quartz, then the cleavage lines will be clearly visible in it, and paint can be seen in internal inclusions and microcracks, since it is often tinted to make it more saturated. Also, natural quartz will be heavier. Good glass imitations are sometimes made very realistic, but high transparency and unnatural hairy inclusions with air bubbles will always be a sign of a fake. On the left is glass “Cherry quartz” and on the right is natural quartz with inclusions, which it imitates Glass “volcanic quartz” has a characteristic hairiness designed to imitate inclusions of hematite and lepidocrocite in natural stone; the shade of such glass is always the same, but of different saturation with different degrees of dilution of dyes. In addition to pink shades, this glass is also made with brown and yellow stains, and the main difference will be the presence of air bubbles in the beads and cabochons. Fakes “Volcanic quartz”

4. Fake moonstone and opal from opalite and coated glass

Opalite is glass that they try to sell under the guise of natural opal or moonstone. Glass with a coating between two glued halves is also often sold under the guise of moonstone. Coated glass offered as opal or moonstone. Not a synthetic opal. Natural moonstone has muted transparency, softly shimmers and has areas with blue, yellow, lilac, and iridescent iridescence. In natural moonstone, the internal structure of the mineral is almost always visible. And iridescence is visible only when the stone is turned at a certain angle to the light. Opalite beads are transparent, uniformly colored in a bluish-milky color with yellowish tints and do not contain inclusions (they may contain air bubbles). On the left is scorch, on the right is natural moonstone

5. Onyx

Onyx is another popular stone in terms of the number of fakes. Dyed chalcedony is sold under the guise of black onyx (black onyx does not exist), and calcite is hidden under colored mint and apple green with stripes. The structure of natural onyx is layered, consisting of multi-tonal gray, caramel milky shades, and it is quite heavy in weight. If you see clear, even stripes or completely faded and blurry stripes, feel light weight and a warm surface, it’s a fake. On the left is natural onyx, on the right is natural calcite sold under its guise. Natural onyx beads in ball and free form Also, many people mistakenly sell dyed chalcedony as black agate, although neither black nor white agate exists. So under white agate they sell, at best, marble, bleached compacts, chalcedony, but more often glass. fakes – “Black and white agates”

6. Turquoise – dyed howlite, etc.

Turquoise is definitely among the top counterfeit stones; as soon as a new material was found that could be dyed in a characteristic color, it was processed and inserted into jewelry under the guise of turquoise. The most common materials used for this were dyed howlite, which even in its natural gray color was sold as “immature turquoise,” turquenite, cachalong, magnesite and chrysocolla. Natural turquoise has a certain hardness, density, color, luminescence, waxy luster, as well as a characteristic structure that can only be seen under a microscope – a light blue background is decorated with dark blue discs, as well as small particles of white shades. In artificial turquoise, bluish particles predominate. One of the main characteristics of natural turquoise is the size of the stone; in nature, pure turquoise is found in small pieces (for example, turquoise the size of a walnut is considered very rare). Large stones are colored unevenly – so if you have a large stone with a uniform color in front of you, then it is most likely a fake. Another important characteristic is the price: turquoise is a precious stone that is quite rare in nature, so turquoise jewelry cannot be cheap. What you should pay attention to: a plain, evenly colored stone with dark specks or brown veins that look like cracks – a fake howlite; dark spots – magnesite treated with salt or copper; Most often, on chips and in holes, the “stone” will be gray or white, since surface painting is practiced, which does not affect the entire depth of the stone. On the left is howlite, on the right is natural turquoise

7. Aventurine

Most often, aventurine glass is sold under the guise of natural aventurine – an imitation of quartzite, which is obtained by adding copper and iron oxides (red-brown “aventurine”), chromium oxides (green), and cobalt oxides (blue) to the molten glass mass. An excessive amount of glitter usually indicates imitation. In glass imitation, the scales can sometimes be unevenly distributed, and zones of colored glass with a reduced glitter content or without them at all can be observed. The color of natural stone is white, light gray, honey, pink, brick, cherry, green. Saturated colors are not uncommon, but sparkles in natural aventurine are rare. Aventurine glass has an excessive amount of shiny inclusions; in natural aventurine this shiny pollen is not so pronounced. On the left is a glass fake, on the right is natural aventurine

8. Chrysoprase

Instead of the much more expensive chrysoprase, dyed chalcedony is often sold. Signs by which a fake can be distinguished are color and uniformity of coloring. Dyed chalcedony is evenly colored over its entire plane and all beads have the same color, color saturation and practically no inclusions, also translucent chalcedony beads have a noticeable cellular growth front (a “honeycomb” structure, which is visible if you look at the stone in the light) . Also, such dyed chalcedony is often much darker than natural chrysoprase. The color of natural chrysoprase is very special: the range of shades is very diverse – from mint transparent with milky areas to rich turquoise green. Chrysoprase is very characterized by picturesque inclusions of the rock in copper-brown, gray-beige tones.

9. Cat’s eye

Colored cat’s eye beads with even stripes are, of course, also fake. The true mineral chrysoberyl is incredibly rare and expensive, but if its visual properties are what attracts you, then there are other stones that have this visual effect – for example, quartz cat’s eye. True, natural stones never have bright open colors: natural chrysoberyl has a gray-olive color scheme, and quartz cat’s eye has a gray color. Therefore, there is no alternative to glass borosilicate beads with a “cat’s eye effect” in terms of variety of colors. On the left is a quartz cat’s eye, on the right is a glass imitation cat’s eye

10. Malachite

Mainly on the market for fakes in the form of malachite are polymer clay (which is kneaded in a striped form and cut into cabochons or cut into beads) and plastic imitations with stripes. To distinguish a natural stone from an imitation, pay attention to the layering – malachite has smooth lines, the stone is also quite heavy and has a cold surface. There is also often a satin shimmer inside the stone, which can be seen when held up to the light. The colors of the fakes will be quite bright and contrasting, and the design will not create a pleasant pattern, specks and inclusions of chrysocolla or azurite, characteristic of natural malachite. On the left is fake, on the right is natural malachite

11. Cacholong

Cacholong is an opaque milky white variety of opal. Although it is found in jewelry, in the natural stone market, unscrupulous sellers sell howlite and bleached magnesite under this name. Natural cacholong has some uneven transparency, especially along the thin edge of the stone. But in howlite and magnesite we will see brownish or gray veins, while in natural cacholong these are dendritic inclusions. On the left is natural cacholong, on the right is howlite

12. “Watermelon” tourmaline

The popular watermelon tourmaline is a common target of imitators. The resulting imitation stones often consist of a thin slab of colored glass or plastic glued between two pieces of colored glass.
Imitation can be easily determined using a microscope or magnifying glass. If you examine the stones along the belt, you can see the edge of the color plate or glue lines. Sometimes glue bubbles are visible even to the naked eye. On the left is natural “watermelon” tourmaline, on the right is imitation But the most common fakes are simple painted glass, acrylic beads or imitation of cheap pressed stones, zoned pink and green. Natural tourmaline has a characteristic structure that is always visible, even if the stone is completely opaque. And in natural watermelon tourmaline, crystal growth zones with inclusions and a variety of shades are visible. We hope you find this article helpful. It is impossible to fully reveal all the nuances of this multi-layered topic in one article, so if you still have questions, write in the comments, and we will answer. Cacholong is classified as an opal. But it does not look like the noble, handsome jirasols, fire and black opals. Our gem is a simple opal, without rainbow tints or play of colors.

Lotus nectar and sacred cow milk

Cacholong stone has been known since ancient times. Many peoples have legends about the origin of the mineral. The Egyptians considered the gem to be the stone of the sacred bull Apis. In the Roman Empire, stone was used as an ornamental stone and used to decorate interiors. For the Mongols, kacholong is the petrified nectar of the sacred lotus flower. Hindus consider the mineral to be the milk of a sacred cow transformed into white cacholong. The Chinese created the best porcelain. A collectible piece of a snow-white translucent stone was placed in a place where porcelain treasures were stored. The similarity between the untouched whiteness of the stone and the porcelain, as thin as the petals of a flower, spoke of wealth. The most poetic version: cacholong – moonlight turned into stone.

What’s in a name

• Kalmyk agate;
• pearl opal;
• Kalmyk pearls;
• Kohalong agate;
• half-fallen

Materials

Nature has created more than 100 varieties of opals of various shades.

The color depends on the impurities that make up the stone. This can be nickel, iron, manganese and other elements.

Some of them were awarded their own names. Among them:

• harlequin;
• hydrophane;
• girazole;
• hyalite.

Cacholong is a type of simple opal. It can be called a union of opal and chalcedony. Both minerals are related in nature, both are silicon dioxide (silica).

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The chemical formula of the mineral is SiO2 nH2O.

Silicon dioxide hydrogel, pearl opal, has an interesting structure. Chalcedony here has a fine-fiber structure, opal is a mixture of microscopic balls-grains. There are quite a lot of pores in the balls and fibers mixed together. Light penetrates them, and this gives translucency and mystical depth to the stone.

It often has a pearlescent tint, which is why it is called “pearl opal”.

Hardness is about 6 on the Mohs scale.

Not only white

White color has many shades. Many of them are demonstrated by cacholong.

The stone may have a shade:

• bluish;
• greenish;
• ivory;
• greyish or grey;
• “skim milk” color;
• very pale pink;
• milk cream color.

There are even black cacholongs.

Place of Birth

The stone is mined in weathering crusts, where it forms veins, deposits, and lenses.

Deposits where you can find Kalmyk agate have:

• Austria;
• Uzbekistan;
• Czech;
• Mongolia;
• USA;
• Kalmykia;
• Kamchatka

The mineral owes its origin to hydrothermal processes.

Application

The meaning of cacholong for a person is to give joy to the eyes. Lithotherapists will add: to protect expectant mothers and babies, to speed up the recovery of patients.

The scope of application of cacholong is jewelry production, the manufacture of decorative items (boxes, figurines, dishes).

Facing tiles, bas-reliefs, mosaics made of pearl opal will decorate any home.

The magic of procreation

The magic of cacholong is female. This is a powerful amulet for every woman.

The father must give his daughter a product with a gem. So she will always be protected by the power of the great mother Earth. It will help keep the girl clean. For a woman, the mineral will become a faithful assistant in motherhood. She will always have milk for the baby, the stamina to survive sleepless nights. And wisdom, affection, firmness in the fight against the hormonal war of a grown-up child.

The magical properties of cacholong are suitable for people of humanitarian professions.

The energy of the gem will be included in the healer’s work and will help find problems in the patient’s body.

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Interesting: a ring with cacholong will help you avoid falling into poverty and even improve the thickness of your wallet.

The magic of cacholong is pure, “white”. The stone does not accept evil deeds so much that in its presence black magic fails.

Lithotherapists advise

The value of the stone in alternative medicine has long been appreciated by healers, healers, and lithotherapists.

In their opinion, cacholong:

1. Helps in the treatment of infertility not only in women, but also in men.
2. Normalizes heartbeat during arrhythmia.
3. Treats pulmonary and bronchial ailments.
4. Relieves infertility and frigidity.
5. Helps treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

The stone helps recovery after serious illnesses.

The healing properties of cacholong will help heal the eyes from glaucoma. Women are advised to wear earrings with cacholong for eye diseases.

Important: it is better for men to wear the stone in a ring. Lithotherapists advise wearing cacholong jewelry from the first days of pregnancy.

Help from the stars

Cacholong is ruled by Venus and the Moon. The mineral is subordinate to the elements of the Earth.

Important: buy jewelry for the waxing Moon, but wear them for the first time on the 22nd lunar day.

The stone has a strong influence on the signs of the Zodiac, and not always favorable.

The gem is least suitable for the fire signs of the Zodiac (Aries, Sagittarius, and to a lesser extent Leo). The same story with Scorpios. The stone is “tailored” to the emotional attunement of the owner. The owner is agitated and angry – the stone will aggravate this condition.

With the help of a gem, Pisces will be able to discover the gift of a healer.

Libra’s financial situation may improve.

The stone will open most fully for Taurus.

Important: in winter and autumn the energy of the stone works more actively.

Counterfeits

Under the guise of natural cacholong, products made of howlite, magnesite or simple painted glass are sometimes sold. There are also products made from pressed howlite chips.

Try to distinguish real opal from a fake:

1. Look closely at the stone. Cacholong is an opal, you can see “depth” in it. Glass does not have this property.
2. Roll a natural gem in your hand. It will give glare, reflections; the surface will change shades. Counterfeits “can’t do this.”
3. Synthetic opal has an even color and uniform structure.

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There is an exotic way to determine the authenticity of a gem. Natural Kohalong is hygroscopic. Place the decoration on your tongue. After a few seconds, the stone will stick to your tongue, drawing moisture from it.

Important: artificial large stones look more presentable than natural ones.

Taking care of the capricious stone

You need to care for the gem carefully. The stone is quite fragile, and in terms of moisture it is simply capricious. If the air is completely dry, the gem will fade or crack. Put it in water and forget it – it might just dissolve.

Cacholong does not tolerate cosmetics. Therefore, keep the stone in pristine purity.

But he has a penchant for clean water and moist air. Therefore, it is better to wear and “walk” jewelry with cacholong more often. Even in dry air, it absorbs moisture from the human body.

You can occasionally give the stone short baths (just don’t take sea water).

How much does a moonlight pebble cost?

You can buy jewelry with cacholong inexpensively. The price of these jewelry rather reflects the work of the master (plus the silver setting). Framed in inexpensive alloys, such jewelry is available to everyone.

Product, frame	Price (in rubles)
Bangle	3 000-16 000
Ring; silver	15 000-18 000
Guardian	8 000
Suspension; silver	10 000

Natural cacholong beads sell for 2-16 rubles per piece (the price depends on the size). You can think over the model, select the material and make luxurious beads. You will become the owner of a unique item.

I am 42 years old and I am a specialist in the field of mineralogy. Here on the site I share information about stones and their properties – ask questions and write comments!