You may have seen our reel yesterday showing the small selection of ‘man made’ crystals that we sell and since then I’ve had a few questions as to the differences between natural & ‘man made’ crystals, also to add there’s a huge difference between fake crystals and the ‘man made’ crystals that we sell! Our ‘man made’ crystals still have natural minerals within however fake crystals are usually made from plastics and unnatural substances, and we are always transparent about what and where our crystals are from, fake crystals will claim to be something that they are not – maybe I should do a post about how to spot fakes?
Now of course natural crystals are formed from the earth which takes millions sometimes even billions of years and they develop deep within the earths surface, because of this each crystal is unique in shape and some even have inclusions of other minerals. The power of natural crystals is strong & pure, their healing energy comes directly from the earth and have been used for centuries in various cultures for spiritual purposes.
Moving on to the ‘man made’ crystals, there are a few different crystals that I would put into this category all of which have natural properties but have been adjusted by humans.
Heat Treated Crystals
Heat treated crystals are natural crystals that have been treated to high temperatures to alter the look or colour of the crystal, with the most prominent being Citrine. Most of the Citrine available on the market is heat treated and this is because natural Citrine is much rarer & harder to get hold of. To create Citrine, Amethyst is heated to high temperatures which turns the colour from purple to yellow/brown, as this happens the frequency of the crystal changes which allows it to vibrate at the same frequency of natural Citrine, which is why it is allowed to referred to as this.
Dyed Crystals
Again dyed crystals are natural crystals that have been dyed a different colour. The most notable crystal that is dyed is Agate, natural agate tends to be brown or black but there are many brightly coloured agate slices and geodes available on the market. Howlite is also another crystal that is often dyed, natural Howlite is white but blue Howlite is available which is dyed. Plus all Red Tigers Eye is dyed, natural Tigers Eye only comes in blue and gold.
Coated Crystals
Some crystals have actually been coated with a metal to create an iridescent effect, these are referred to as aura crystals. These include Rainbow Aura Quartz and Angel Aura Quartz, as the coating is a natural metal this adds to the healing properties of the crystal. Rainbow Aura Quartz is coated in Titanium and Angel Aura Quartz is coated in Platinum.
Man made Crystals
Now when I say man made, I don’t mean plastic that’s been dyed and coloured to look like other crystals – this is fake! There are a few man made crystals that we sell but all use natural materials.
Opalite – made from silica & metal oxides, heated to a high temperature to create Opalite glass.
Bismuth – Bismuth crystals are made from the naturally occurring metal Bismuth, this metal has a low melting point of 271 degrees, once heated and then cooled it creates the iridescent jagged crystals that we sell.
Carborundum – similar to bismuth, carborundum is made by heating silica and carbon together in a pot at a high heat of 2,200 degrees, then allowed to cool for a few days, resulting in the carborundum crystal.
Lab Grown Crystals
We actually don’t sell any lab grown crystals but I felt it important to cover this, especially with how popular lab grown diamonds are becoming. The reason lab grown diamonds and other precious stones are becoming popular is due to 2 reasons, the first being price as they are much much cheaper to buy that natural stones and you cannot tell the difference. The second being that they are 100% ethical, there are many diamond mines across the world that use slave labour, knowing the diamond was grown in a lab completely removes this risk. Lab grown diamonds are made using high pressure & high temperatures which is the same way they would be created naturally, which is why they can be called diamonds.
Of course you can like a crystal for the way it looks but many are drawn to the healing properties of a crystal and I know there can be some debate as to how it can have spiritual properties if its been adjusted by man. When it comes to the crystals that have been adjusted (heat treated, dyed, coated) the vibrational properties of the natural crystal are still there & in some cases can be enhanced with the adjustments. With all our ‘man made’ crystals, they all have natural bases that have been heated to create the crystals, so in my personal opinion the vibrational frequencies & healing properties are there just not as strong as other crystals.
I hope this has helped to clarify the differences between them.
Lapid Art x
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