Genuine Amethyst

[Nymree]

I wanted to buy these on recommendation of the high priestess of a coven I'm a part of. I'm looking for these crystals for protection as well as the purported emotionally calming properties the stones may provide - I'm just trying to get a safety buffer for my practice and home. The only problem is, I'm on a (relatively alright) but still low student budget - I can afford this within reason, but I'm still very cautious about making a mistake or getting scammed. Would anyone be able to point me towards a resource selling genuine amethyst? I just don't want to end up with purple glass, other than that I'm content. I am aware that there's always the risk it'll be a fake, but if there are good resources out there (like a particular seller on Amazon for example), then I'd really appreciate a heads up.

Thanks for any and all replies!

Blessed be,
 - Nymree

[Jenett]

I wanted to buy these on recommendation of the high priestess of a coven I'm a part of. I'm looking for these crystals for protection as well as the purported emotionally calming properties the stones may provide - I'm just trying to get a safety buffer for my practice and home. The only problem is, I'm on a (relatively alright) but still low student budget - I can afford this within reason, but I'm still very cautious about making a mistake or getting scammed. Would anyone be able to point me towards a resource selling genuine amethyst? I just don't want to end up with purple glass, other than that I'm content. I am aware that there's always the risk it'll be a fake, but if there are good resources out there (like a particular seller on Amazon for example), then I'd really appreciate a heads up.

Amethyst is a pretty cheap and easy to mine/polish stone: there's not a tremendous amount of profit in faking it (unlike some). The bigger issue is that it might be heat treated to affect the color. (Which doesn't change the composition of the stone meaningfully)

This post from Rings and Things does a good job of laying out many of the ways semi-precious stones are commonly faked, and the kinds of language/naming/etc. that should tip you off to something being weird.

Googling things like "identifying fake amethyst" or whatever stone you're interested in is also good.

Other stuff that helps:
- If you can handle stones yourself, the difference between glass and stone is usually pretty obvious once you get some practice: objects of the same size will feel different (sometimes very different) for some stones. This doesn't help as much with 'this stone has been dyed to pretend to be this other stone' but it's a start.

- To improve your skills, see if there's a gem and mineral show (or a larger shop) you can go visit, and spend some time just browsing and handling things. If you pick a place with a good rep (for which see the other points here). Sometimes science or natural history museums will have things that help with this too.

- Be wary of things that seem too perfect - a lot of stones that haven't been treated or fake have lots of natural imperfections (especially at lower price points). If you see a stone that seems too evenly coloured, or doesn't have inclusions and other features you'd expect from a natural stone of that kind, be suspicious of it.

- If you're concerned about ethical stones, be aware there are a lot of really awful mining practices out there. If this is something you want to avoid, you will have to do a lot more legwork to figure out specific mines and sourcing. (One of my friends who's a jewelry maker asks at gem shows "Can you tell me the name of the person who made this?" if she's looking at things that are more complicated than really basic beads: how people answer that question is really telling, even if they don't know the name off the top of their head.)

- Be aware that some places may be great about sourcing some kinds of things, and not so great at others, for a whole variety of reasons (they know less about the other thing, they got it from someone they trusted they maybe shouldn't have, etc.) Do your own checks when that matters to you.

Places to pay more attention to:
- Places that avoid the naming circumlocutions mentioned in the post linked above.

- Places that tell you where the stones came from (and then check that against external sources as being a place those stones come from)

- Places that welcome questions. Be cautious if they duck answering, they are very vague, etc. (Bear in mind that if you're in person somewhere, the person manning a retail store or booth or whatever may not be the very knowledgeable one in the store.)

- Places where the price point is about what you'd expect, given the relative rarity of the stone (and the stone in that format...) This is a thing you have to learn by looking at a lot of stuff, but generally if you see either an unusually cheap or unusually pricy thing, there may be something weird up.

[Bluerose31]

I wanted to buy these on recommendation of the high priestess of a coven I'm a part of. I'm looking for these crystals for protection as well as the purported emotionally calming properties the stones may provide - I'm just trying to get a safety buffer for my practice and home. The only problem is, I'm on a (relatively alright) but still low student budget - I can afford this within reason, but I'm still very cautious about making a mistake or getting scammed. Would anyone be able to point me towards a resource selling genuine amethyst? I just don't want to end up with purple glass, other than that I'm content. I am aware that there's always the risk it'll be a fake, but if there are good resources out there (like a particular seller on Amazon for example), then I'd really appreciate a heads up.

Thanks for any and all replies!

Blessed be,
 - Nymree

'Best Amulets' on Amazon has great crystal necklaces. Perhaps there is one that is amethyst.

[SunflowerP]

Would anyone be able to point me towards a resource selling genuine amethyst?

While I have never purchased anything from them myself, I've seen Fire Mountain Gems recommended by a number of different Cauldronites over the years. Here are their listings of amethyst beads.

Alternately, if there's a lapidary shop (that is, one that caters to amateur and professional geologists) where you are, they usually have more reasonable prices than metaphysical (whether 'witchy', or New Age) shops, and are also more likely to meet Jenett's 'places to pay more attention to' criteria, and more likely to be reliable in their sourcing, identification, etc, of stones. (This ties in with Jenett's point about gem and mineral shows.)

Sunflower

[missgraceless]

While I have never purchased anything from them myself, I've seen Fire Mountain Gems recommended by a number of different Cauldronites over the years. Here are their listings of amethyst beads.

Alternately, if there's a lapidary shop (that is, one that caters to amateur and professional geologists) where you are, they usually have more reasonable prices than metaphysical (whether 'witchy', or New Age) shops, and are also more likely to meet Jenett's 'places to pay more attention to' criteria, and more likely to be reliable in their sourcing, identification, etc, of stones. (This ties in with Jenett's point about gem and mineral shows.)

Sunflower

I second FMG. I buy from them quite often, and their stones are actually quite good quality, even the ones listed D grade. If you're using them for metaphysical/magical purposes, you shouldn't need anything higher than C grade. 

I make a lot of beaded jewelry with magical intent and their beads are perfect quality. If you do decide to buy from them, I recommend a cleansing of your choice as they do have a tendency to come in kinda...cranky? They absorb a lot of negative energy on their way to you.

They do have mainly beads, but they also have pendants and components and even double-terminated points here:
http://www.firemountaingems.com/itemdetails/h203552nb
That link is US$17-something, which I know can be pricey, but it comes with 5 crystals, so it's not terrible.

Because I'm on Tapatalk and can't make words show the link like on the computer, I'm not going to fill this post with obnoxious links. The things I searched for you were "amethyst component/focal/undrilled" (obviously each word individually +amethyst.)

Sadly, they don't have stone origins readily available, but it doesn't hurt to contact them and ask about something in particular. And if you're concerned about natural versus dyed products, they do tell you directly in the listing, which I like. They even list when something is imitation.

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