Many sellers are trying to scam people by giving counterfeit Lapis Lazuli as it is a rare stone.
Lapis Lazuli can give enlightenment when you are stuck in your life. You can learn how to tell if Lapis Lazuli is real to ensure you get an authentic stone.
How to Tell if Lapis Lazuli is Real or Fake?
There are different ways to tell if Lapis Lazuli is real or fake. The temperature test is the most abundantly used. You can hold the Lapis Lazuli in your hand and feel its temperature. Stone color and calcite presence can also provide hints of the stone’s authenticity. You can do the acetone test to find the dye on the stone’s surface. It is possible to confirm the Lapis Lazuli identity by scratch test.
What is Lapis Lazuli?
Lapis Lazuli is a royal blue stone with mesmerizing appearance due to the presence of golden or silver color spackles.
Ancient Egyptians used it to repel negative energies.
When artists could not find the blue color in the past, they powdered Lapis Lazuli to make an expensive blue dye.
It is most abundant in jewelry as jewelers consider it a gemstone.
Due to its rarity, you will get the high-quality Lapis Lazuli at a high price.
Most of the Lapis Lazuli consists of Lazurite.
It also has some other minerals inside the stone.
How Can You Tell if a Lapis Lazuli is Real or Fake?
There are two ways to confirm the Lapis Lazuli identity.
You can look for the parameters that confirm the authenticity of the stone.
Educating yourself about the differences between authentic and counterfeit crystals is possible.
When you know both parameters, it will be easy to confirm the stone’s identity and find the counterfeit stones among the pile of authentic ones.
Real pieces of Lapis Lazuli will have these characteristics
- You cannot see the other side of the Lapis Lazuli as it is an opaque stone.
- It is easy to identify due to its ultramarine color.
- It has pyrite inclusions of golden color.
- It is hard to elevate Lapis Lazuli temperature due to heat repelling properties.
- You can scratch glass with Lapis Lazuli due to the high hardness score.
- You will not find a pattern in the inclusions as it has random inclusion appearances.
How to tell if Lapis Lazuli is fake
- The same shade of blue on the entire stone indicates a counterfeit stone.
- The stone has the same temperature as the room.
- There is a pattern in the pyrite and calcite inclusions.
Methods for Determining if Lapis Lazuli is Real
There are many ways to find the stone’s identity.
We will give you some tests to help you identify the authentic Lapis Lazuli.
1. To Tell if Lapis Lazuli is Real, Check the Price
The cost of the stone can give you a quick hint about its authenticity.
Authentic Lapis Lazuli stones come at a higher price.
You may have to spend thousands of dollars to get a high-quality piece.
If a seller gives you a perfect Lapsi Lazuli stone of large size at a lower price, there are higher chances of counterfeit stone.
2. To Tell if Lapis Lazuli is Real, Check for Pyrite and Calcite Presence
Authentic Lapis Lazuli always has some inclusions of pyrite and calcite.
The inclusions give the appearance of golden and white speckles on the stone’s surface.
If you find a Lapis Lazuli stone without these inclusions, it is a counterfeit stone, as inclusions are an essential part of the Lapis Lazuli crystal structure.
It is a metamorphic rock that forms due to natural forces changing the mineral structure.
3. To Tell if Lapis Lazuli is Real, Check Coloring and Opaqueness
You will not find patterns in the gold spackles of the Lapis Lazuli stone.
They should show randomness to confirm that it is made with a natural process.
Lapis Lazuli also has a color gradient as it does not have the same blue shade on the entire crystal.
It is not the case with counterfeit crystals, as you will observe a pattern in the inclusions with the same blue shade on the entire stone.
4. To Tell if Lapis Lazuli is Real, Do the Scratch Test
Lapis Lazuli has a score of 5 to 5.5 on the Moh hardness scale.
It indicates that you can scratch the glass with the Lapis Lazuli.
Most of these stones are expensive.
You should not try the scratch test with the knife.
If the seller allows you to test with a knife, you can do it.
The knife will make a scratch on the Lapis Lazuli surface.
You can take a glass and scratch the glass surface with the stone.
An authentic stone should make a scratch.
The glass should not scratch the Lapis Lazuli surface.
5. To Tell if Lapis Lazuli is Real, Do the Acetone Test
It is a test to identify the synthetic or dyed Lapis Lazuli stones.
You can put some acetone on a cotton ball and rub it on the stone’s surface.
An authentic stone will not leave color on the cotton ball surface.
If there is a blue color on the cotton ball after rubbing, you have a counterfeit Lapis Lazuli stone.
Dyes dissolve in the acetone to leave color on the cotton ball.
It may fade the color of the counterfeit stone.
How to Identify a Fake Lapis Lazuli?
Making counterfeit Lapis Lazuli stones or enhancing the color is not new.
Experts have found records of Lapis Lazuli color enhancement records in ancient Egypt.
Sellers try to scam people by giving them counterfeit stones at a higher price.
We compiled a list of the most frequent ways sellers enhance or make fake Lapis Lazuli stones.
1. Imitation Lapis Lazuli
Some sellers change the color and appearance of other types of stones to make them appear like Lapis Lazuli.
They dye Sodalite and Magnesite to make them look like Lapis Lazuli.
Sellers can make these stones from glass also.
An expert can find the authenticity of these stones fast.
2. Synthetic Lapis Lazuli
Some make Lapis Lazuli in the lab by providing the same materials and conditions as the natural stone.
They try to give it enough pressure and temperature by pressing the lazurite and other substances.
This process can make Lapis Lazuli with similar physical properties.
3. Enhanced Lapis Lazuli
There are two ways sellers enhance the Lapis Lazuli to increase the stone’s worth.
They use dyed resin on the surface to enhance the stone’s color.
They may fix more than two pieces of Lapis Lazuli to make a larger stone.
Large stones can sell for higher prices in the market.
How Can I Use Tumbled Lapis Lazuli Stones to Benefit Myself?
You can use tumbled lapis lazuli stones by placing them near your workspace to enhance creativity and boost mental clarity.
Carrying them in your pocket or as jewelry can promote inner peace and spiritual enlightenment. Meditating with these tumbled stones can bring balance and harmony to your energy centers.