LAVENDER MOON QUARTZ 

REAL OR FAKE

Lavender Moon Quartz started hitting the crystal market with more presence in the summer of 2022. As with anything that was touted as "New and Rare" I always hesitate on investing in that kind of material as a lot of times they end up being fakes. 

After several requests for authenticity from followers and my own genuine curiosity I decided to get it tested! With the help of Two Sisters Crystals (@twosisterscrystals) on TikTok who graciously donated the samples for me to test I was able to get two of the gorgeous tumbles out to the lab. 

Due to our larger TikTok following the lab does not want me sharing their information as they are a part of a small mineral museum and do not have the capacity to do mineral testing on a large scale and per their request their contact information has been removed from the results. 

When I received the tumbles from Two Sisters Crystals I noted a few things. They absolutely had that "gemmy" look that a lot of crystal shoppers desire, they were a gorgeous Lavender color and upon inspection under the microscope they didn't appear to have any indication of dying and had some fluid inclusions. My Initial scratch test was showing it had a hardness close to quartz if it wasn't quartz. 

I now believe the resistance in cutting the glass plate that I felt doing the MOHS test was using was due to the excessive polish added to the tumble based on the results. 

THE RESULTS
I got the results on 10/28, but due to being sick I wasn't able to share them as soon as I would have liked. I instantly went to one of my suppliers to purchase some, which I kind of regret and I will talk more about that and the pricing after the results from the lab.

The findings.....They are REAL! Not dyed. Notable amounts of aluminum and fibrous inclusions of dumortierite. It is really hard to say if it is actually a low grade amethyst or if it is a variety of lavender rose quartz. Although I am leaning toward a variety of rose quartz, I would love to know what you think if you are a geology nerd and want to read the results. 

Some things to keep in mind. 

According to the International Gem Society (IGS)

"Rose quartzes are quartzes that show a light to medium pink color. These gems receive their coloring from fibrous inclusions of a mineral similar to dumortierite. Sometimes, amethyst (the purple variety of quartz) may influence rose quartzes and give them a violet or purplish shade."

"Natural amethyst receives its color from the presence of iron and other trace elements as well as natural irradiation."

According to the Fort Hays State University Sternberg Museum of Natural History

"Rose Quartz – The pink color comes from trace amounts of titanium, iron, or manganese, in the mineral."

On 11/3 I contacted the lab again to see if there was potential that it was heat treated as it is not uncommon for heat treated minerals to develop small fluid inclusions and our lab representative said it looks natural and like no heat treating had occurred.

PRICING
Please keep in mind my pricing is an average, pricing will vary based on a multitude of factors for each shop. The number I have is based on what I was able to purchase the tumbles for from my supplier. I would retail these around $2.88 a gram which is consistent with most of the pricing I see on Etsy. A few shops on Etsy did have them listed closer to wholesale pricing, but I imaging it is due to difficulty selling them given that there was a lot of ambiguity around them and to be honest there still is in regard to the locality.

WHERE ARE THEY FROM
The only answer I have been able to get is that they are from Brazil. I did some research and checked with my Brazilian supplier (who has been in the business in Brazil for over 30 years) and they said they had never seen it. Now they primarily source Minas Gerias minerals so it is possible it is from another part of the country. I saw two websites mention that they are old stock from the Oliveira dos Brejnhos mine, but I have not been able to confirm this. So all we really know is Brazil. If you have any more information in regard to locality that you were able to confirm please comment below. 

WHY I REGRET INVESTING AS A SELLER
I usually dig a lot deeper before investing in a purchase, but I unfortunately made an impulse buy as soon as I knew it was authentic. I was not able to determine the locality of the mine with certainty and so I can't sell them under our consciously sourced label which is a part of our ethical code of conduct and I am not able to confirm if it is a lavender rose quartz cleverly marketed.

There could be potential price gouging going on at the wholesale level, but I am not seeing it at the retail level. When I did a quick scan on Etsy the majority of listings appeared to be fairly priced. 

It is important to note that part of pricing is not just the mineral, but also availability. If it is as rare as people say that would be indicative of a higher pricing range. I personally had not seen it and that is why I was hesitant to invest, but it is absolutely not something you see all the time.

 

IS IT JUST LOW GRADE AMETHYST OR LAVENDER ROSE QUARTZ?
I don't know for sure and this is why I will be holding them. Let me know what you think in the comments. 

CONFOUNDING VARIABLES

Just because the samples I had tested came back authentic, it doesn't mean all of the "Lavender Moon Quartz" on the market are authentic crystals.

If you have read this far you are a true crystal nerd and you are in the right place!

Want to learn more about colored rose quartz? Check out Hibiscus Moon's blog which has some similar details on this subject. 

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