If you’ve found this article, you probably love the rich, royal color of sugilite and are wondering if that strand of beads you found on ebay for under ten dollars could possibly be the same stuff you’ve seen for sale for far, far more. The short answer is no. Genuine sugilite with good color is quite valuable, and there is a lucrative market in dying stones to resemble sugilite as well as in calling any stone with some purple in it sugilite.
This will serve as a beginner’s guide for weeding out the fakes, but I would suggest running your potential purchase past an expert before buying if at all possible. It’s fake sugilite if:
- It’s cheap. You can expect to pay $35.00 (bargain price!) to over $200.00 for a strand of decent sugilite beads. For a cabochon of ring size, you are looking at a retail price of $25-$200.00 depending on the quality of the stone. I would be suspicious of any piece of finished jewelry containing sugilite for under a hundred dollars unless the stone is tiny, has very poor color, or just has a few sugilite beads in it.
- It’s called flower sugilite, Russian sugilite, Chinese sugilite, or sugilite jasper.
- It’s called a sugilite “crystal” and it’s anything larger than tiny.
- It’s a flat, uniform dull purple color with thick black veins running through it.
- It’s identified as “reconsituted,” “assembled,” “manmade,” or “lab grown.”
Now, it’s time for you to do a little googling. Check out purple kiwi jasper, purple crazy lace agate, charoite, purple howlite, and purple magnesite. Study the photos and get to know what they look like, because they are commonly passed off as sugilite.
Remember, too good to be true IS too good to be true. There are some pretty dyed stones out there pretending to be sugilite, but they’re just extras in a B movie compared to the real stuff.
Thanks for the info on fake sugilite. I’ve been looking at some earrings wondering how they could be offered up so cheap and why it said jasper in the description. Oh well, I’ll have to keep looking. I really wanted some to match a ring I bought years ago. I’m wondering now if my bracelet is fake. That’s okay, I really like it anyway!
If you can take a couple of photos of your bracelet I might be able to tell you.
Kindest regards,
i`m david from indonesia. i`m an 18year-old student. i wanna thank u for all of ur hardwork on this site. this site is really helpful to me for a school project…
Why would someone advertise a piece as “manmade sugilite”? Is this their honesty as a seller, in saying, “hey, got this pretty stone, but it’s not real”? I appreciate this site greatly, as I’m taken by sugilite and when it’s real, it really has a power to it.
Thank you!
You pretty much nailed it. There is a market in the gemstone world for synthetic and manmade versions of costly stones, and the honest dealers will identify them as such. Dishonest vendors will sell manmade versions while “conveniently” forgetting to mention their origin, or in more blatantly dishonest cases, deliberately represent a manmade material as the natural stone. So if you see a dealer representing something as manmade sugilite, give them a pat on the back. They are doing the honest thing.
I have a very large supply of Sugilite, A customer had 50lbs of it uncut and just sitting in his home since the 70″s I have verified the stone as A to AAA grade,, I am having the rough cut into calibrated and non calibrated sizes. Its is sourced from the South African Mag. Mines.
I you need a good piece to work with or to just be sure your getting a true stone contact me any time.. I will be selling them for the owner of the stones.. I am a member Of the International Gem Society and GIA.
I am hoping to get a yield of about 25lbs finished cuts, I have posted some pic of the first cuts out of the rough stone on my web site http://www.yeoldmysticjeweler.com
I already have seen many imitations from Europe and Middle east on this stone.. I spent the past 10 years in Europe and this stone is getting very popular and there is
a growing market for the fake and imitation stones with finished jewelry retailers. Buyer beware in the sugilite market
I make Southwestern Navajo Jewerly, I’m Native American from the Navajo Tribe. I live in Shiprock, New Mexico and I work with alot of natural sugilites. I make rings, earrings, necklaces, pendents, and buckles. My pieces are museum quality collector pieces and we ONLY use natural stones (corals, sugilites, turquiose, lapis, etc.)
So if your looking for one of a kind all natural sugilite jewelry, your so welcome to contact me through my mail and I’d be gladly to show you what unique one of a kind pieces I’ve created.
I work in sterling silver, 14K or 18K gold.
Contact: albertlee@frontiernet.net
Thank You!
1)Thanks for info. My ph 754-366- 5566.My email is NOT good. 2) I need a HONEST source of natural,GENUINE stones, not of fake ones. This is because i know GOD turned skeptic- me into a firm believer in HIM by making me believe in what HE had me experience: great energy HE placed in gems &crystals. Then, GOD made me aware of dangerous weak, matter adicts, GREEDY & attached to having, DECEIVERS by default,who are falling (distance) even further away frm HIM (JOY of being on earth & continued in afterlife). They sale fake gems to ignorants like me, as allowed by HIM, to teach me 2more invaluable lessons: a)discerning beyond deceiving -obvious& b)good lessons come ONLY from nearness to HIM. Therfore to the degree to which i choose to practice perfect ethics in thought,word &deed, i enter into resonance with HIS energy OR with lesser energies than HIS. This is what makes praying efficient or not, for results always resonate by both intent & knowledge (law of attraction & low of karma or cause /effect).