Can you tell the difference?

Recently a customer of ours showing us her Morganite bought from an online store. The price that she paid sent us into a suspicious mode and we were right to feel that way, after much verification what she has gotten is Chalcedony.

Chalcedony is a generic name given to materials that are composed of microcrystalline quartz. Agate and jasper are both varieties of chalcedony and often are inexpensive. Morganite is a pink gemstone that’s a close cousin to emerald and aquamarine—in fact, it’s a mineral that includes both. This rare stone ranges in colors of pink—from pale blush to rose, to peach, to salmon. The most common and popular stones are often on the lighter shade of the family, but deeper shades may be more valuable. Lighter shade or deeper shades Morganite is priced much higher than the Chalcedony.

How do you tell the difference?

These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic. It’s not easy to notice the difference with the naked eye and most of us do not have the necessary scope to examine its structure. We notice that sellers are selling Chalcedony as Morganite at the price of Morganite, we do not know if they know what are they selling (sometimes they simply listen to their supplier) or they just trying to rip off their customers.

So, do buy from reputable sellers and ask for a full refund if your crystals are not what they supposed to be. By the way, refer to the featured photos, the smaller beads are the Morganite, did you get it right?

MorganiteChalcedony