Fake vs Real Crystals: What Every Witch Should Know
Unless you’ve got a lab and some serious gemology equipment tucked in your broom closet, there’s no way to be 100% certain a crystal is real without proper testing. But don’t worry, we witches are resourceful, intuitive, and just a little stubborn when it comes to our sacred tools. You can train your eye (and your energy) to spot the fakes from the finds.
Here’s how I do it, and how you can, too.
Quartz vs. Glass: The Classic Struggle
One of the biggest areas of confusion is between clear quartz and plain old glass. They can look shockingly similar at first glance, but there are a few key giveaways:
The “Magnification Test” Myth
Some say glass magnifies and quartz doesn’t, but that’s not reliable. Shape matters. A rounded quartz point will magnify, just like your old reading glasses. That test is outdated and inconsistent.
Look for Bubbles
Glass, especially if it’s been made quickly or carelessly, often traps little air bubbles inside. If you spot any tiny round bubbles floating in the “crystal,” it’s glass. Quartz never has air bubbles.
Feel the Flaws
Genuine quartz often contains natural inclusions, lines, fractures, or internal veils. Some high-grade quartz (like optical or A-grade) can be super clear, but here’s the trick: even the clearest quartz won’t have air bubbles. Trust your eyes.
The Scratch Test
Quartz is harder than glass. In fact, it can scratch glass without getting scratched itself. Try gently dragging the edge of your crystal across a glass jar (or a cheap mirror) and see if it leaves a scratch, without hurting the crystal. If the crystal gets scratched? It’s not quartz.
Dyed Crystals: When Color Looks Too Good to Be True
If a crystal’s color is so vibrant it looks like it belongs in a bag of Skittles… It’s probably been dyed.
Dyed Agate & Heat-Treated Quartz
Those bright fuchsia, electric blues, neon greens? Natural agates don’t come in those shades. They’re dyed to enhance appeal (and honestly, they’re pretty, but not “natural”).
The same goes for some amethyst, citrine, and rose quartz that seem unusually bright or too perfect. Check for signs like:
- Color pooling in cracks or along the edges
- Uniform color with no gradients or fades
- A white base when chipped or scratched
Some quartz pieces are heat-treated to intensify color, especially citrine. Natural citrine is a pale honey or smoky yellow. If it looks like a glowing orange gem straight from Mordor? That’s probably a baked amethyst.
Dyed Howlite = Fake Turquoise
This one’s a classic. Turquoise is rare and pricey, but dyed howlite is cheap and easy to pass off. Real turquoise is opaque, weighty, and can have uneven black veining. Dyed howlite, on the other hand, often looks plasticky and is bright, uniform, and flat in color. Scratch it, and the white interior gives it away.
Man-Made But Magical? “Accepted Fakes”
Some crystals are technically fake, but no one’s lying about it. These are the man-made materials that many witches still use in their practice because they hold symbolic value, aesthetic charm, or simply work well in spellcraft.
Opalite
Opalite isn’t a natural crystal; it’s a man-made glass. But it’s pretty, dreamy, and gentle in energy. Think soft vibes, emotional clarity, and lunar magic. It’s not from the Earth, but you can still work with it intentionally.
“Fruit Quartz” and Aura Crystals
“Strawberry quartz,” “cherry quartz,” “aqua aura,” etc. These are often either dyed, heat-treated, or coated crystals (like quartz bonded with metals like titanium or gold). They’re enhanced, not totally fake, but they don’t occur naturally in the wild.
💡 Witch tip: I don’t personally reject these crystals. If they speak to you energetically, use them. Just be honest with yourself and others about what they are, and don’t rely on them for Earth-grounded spellwork if they’re synthetic.
Trust Your Witch Senses
Even with all the technical info, I’ll be real with you, your intuition is one of your strongest tools. Hold the crystal. Close your eyes. Feel the energy. A real crystal feels alive, grounding, slightly cool to the touch, and has a gentle “hum” to it. Fake crystals often feel flat, dull, or too light.
If something feels off, trust that feeling. Energy doesn’t lie.
A Few Tips Before You Buy
- Buy from trusted shops, preferably small businesses, gem fairs, or crystal sellers who list the origin of the stones.
- Ask questions: Where was it sourced? Is it heat-treated or dyed? A good seller won’t get defensive.
- Be wary of prices that are too good to be true. A large piece of “turquoise” for €5? Nope. That’s probably dyed howlite in disguise.
- Natural crystals vary. If every piece in the shop looks identical in color, shape, and clarity… raise an eyebrow.
At the end of the day, your spiritual practice is yours. Whether your crystal is forged in the Earth or in a furnace, what matters most is the energy you bring to it. But knowledge is power, and we witches like to know exactly what’s in our cauldron.
Stay sharp. Stay enchanted. And always check for bubbles.
Blessed Be🌿
Photo by Edz Norton on Unsplash
Photo by Emily Karakis on Unsplash
