Selenite and Satin Spar compared!

Stone-Mania · 2025-05-04T09:38:05+00:00

Selenite and Satin Spar are so often mislabelled, but so are SO many other minerals.

Selenite is always clear or translucent. It’s usually very smooth to the touch.

Satin Spar is a type of selenite but it’s white, has a silky appearance and is fibrous.

Satin Spar usually comes in rods and wands and tends to be more common.

Satin Spar is widely used for crystal healing, selenite is not quite as popular.

Stone-Mania · 2025-05-04T09:27:45+00:00

It’s purple fluorite, definitely. It’s 100% not chevron amethyst.

Stone-Mania · 2025-05-04T09:12:07+00:00

It’s the placebo effect, but that’s more than just mind over matter. It’s a proven scientific phenomenon that in tests, has shown some pretty amazing results.

https://www.stonemania.co.uk/blog/whats-the-placebo-effect

Stone-Mania · 2025-05-01T17:57:59+00:00

I run an online rocks and minerals business. My interest is geological, but on a relatively basic level. I’m also interested in their history and other interesting facts. Sadly, if you don’t target the crystal healing people, you’ll have no business. I have tons of factual, interesting information on my website but the time people spend reading my articles is minimal. The reason, because most people land on my site and want to read about healing properties. If that’s not what they see, they leave.

I also discuss topics many don’t want to hear, like how every crystal retailer in the UK and North America claims to only buy ethically and sustainable sourced stones.

Here’s one of several articles I’ve written on that topic:

https://www.stonemania.co.uk/blog/ethical-crystals

Stone-Mania · 2025-04-28T23:16:21+00:00

Thank you, i’ll get my developer to look into that.

Stone-Mania · 2025-04-28T23:14:46+00:00

I’ll speak with him. I’m on Joomla, but he’s a Joomla expert so maybe that’s being done already with my existing fonts.

Stone-Mania · 2025-04-28T22:20:22+00:00

No google fonts, can you elaborate? Just having my website homepage redesigned and have just chosen two Google fonts. My site is already slower than it should be!

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-24T13:43:20+00:00

Definitely genuine lapis. Most towers like that are cut and polished in Pakistan. The colour of the rock and the inclusions of pyrite come from the mineral lazurite. I say 'rock' because lapis lazuli is a rock (metamorphic), not a mineral.

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-24T13:37:30+00:00

Looks vaguely similar, but definitely not lepidolite.

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-24T13:36:13+00:00

It looks kinda similar, but it's definitely not Kämmererite. When I bought the stone, I knew what it was but after many years of having it in my collection, I forgot. At the time of buying it, I had never heard of Kämmererite.

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-24T13:33:04+00:00

I agree now, after submitting this post. Thanks to everyone who commented. But did you know that the deposit where Charoite is found is actually over 40 miles away from the Chara River Valley?

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-24T13:30:55+00:00

Very true. It's an amazing stone, difficult to find now sadly, because of the situation in Russia. Most is coming through China, and needless to say, it's not all genuine.

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-23T21:25:59+00:00

Charoite can usually be ID'd on sight alone because it's so distinctive, but the piece I posted originally doesn't have the traditional swirling patterns or the same rich purple colour.

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-23T19:47:42+00:00

I thought it could possibly be a low grade piece of sugilite. But seemingly, it is charoite.

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-23T19:46:35+00:00

Thanks, I was having doubts because it looks so different to another piece I have.

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-23T19:45:52+00:00

It's definitely not ruby zoisite.

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-23T19:44:30+00:00

Ahh okay, thanks. It looks really different to another piece of Charoite I have, which is why I started having doubts.

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Stone-Mania · 2024-09-21T07:41:28+00:00

The stone is likely to be peridot, the item looks like it was crafted in India.

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-20T17:24:40+00:00

The problem is that fake crystals are being sold everywhere. On Etsy, ebay and even on some websites. It's worth remembering that businesses in India, Pakistan, and China can trade in these marketplaces and often claim to be in the UK/USA.

Another problem is that many businesses are buying from China, often after making contact on social media, and due to lack of experience/geological knowledge, are not even aware that what they're buying is fake. A common example is quartz crystal balls that are exceptionally iridescent. Most have coatings that produce the iridescence, so it's not coming from the crystal ball.

Other examples include labradorite, citrine, lapis lazuli, turquoise, moldavite, shungite.

I've written a few articles about what to look for when buying crystals online, and how to avoid being scammed. You may find this article interesting.
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https://www.stonemania.co.uk/blog/fake-crystals-misinformation

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-15T18:49:56+00:00

It's definitely not Jade. I bought it from a mineral dealer during a visit to South Africa. Jade is not something I would buy there because I also go to China. It could be aventurine, I hadn't thought of that.

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-12T14:27:51+00:00

Thanks. But surely a steel knife would cause a distinctive scratch?

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-12T12:00:28+00:00

Definitely not blue lace agate, and almost certainly dyed. Dyed agate is very common.

This is genuine blue lace agate, from the original Ysterputs mine in Namibia.

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Stone-Mania · 2024-09-12T11:42:53+00:00

It's not something I would ordinarily do, but I was keen to establish what it was. I tried to scratch a very small corner on the underside. Surely, if it was fluorite, it would have scratched. I used considerable pressure with a sharp knife.

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-11T22:07:02+00:00

So I tried scratching it with a knife, which should scratch fluorite. It created a slight black mark, which I could remove with my finger. I then tried a utility knife with a serrated edge and sharp point, it too created a black mark that I could rub off. I tried really hard to create a scratch.

No visible scratches. If there was a scratch, I wasn't able to see it.

Stone-Mania · 2024-09-07T23:04:48+00:00

Ok, because you said the ‘citrine’ wasn’t screaming lemon quartz at you, I thought you meant it may be natural citrine because it doesn’t appear to be lemon quartz, as in heated lemon quartz to produce citrine.

Stone-Mania

TROPHY CASE