Aventurine is a translucent crystal that belongs to the Quartz family, it is characterized by a unique shimmery appearance that is truly particular.
Aventurine is the ultimate soothing and comforting stone, its emitted energy helps you calm your mind and soul and fills your aura with the bright energy of optimism, harmony, and luck.
Real aventurine is a translucent crystal with shades of colors that vary in intensity from one stone to another, plus It has an ample amount of flake-like shaped inclusions that give the stone a shimmery aspect. Fake Aventurine on the other side is characterized by bright dyed colors with a very faint shimmery finish which looks like big glitter chunks.
Find in this post a detailed and simple guide with critical telling signs that will guide you to identify real aventurine stones from the fake ones.
Table of Contents
How to tell if Aventurine is real? the 4 essential signs that you should look for
1. Know the true colors of Aventurine stones, examine the color distribution.
Knowing the true colors of your stones is one of the first very important steps to take in recognition when shopping or getting to know your crystals.
The first thing to know is that Aventurine is most often green, nevertheless, it can also occur in other colors such as:
Red
Yellow
Blue
Pink
Brown
Gray
White
We may stumble upon some color varieties of Aventurine crystals that are presented as “real” or “genuine” crystals, and marked as “hot pink”, “bright orange”, or “blue sky” aventurine stones.
Hence, you should be extra attentive while examining Aventurine crystals, if you notice that the colors are extra saturated, for example, you notice that red aventurine is presented as a very bright and saturated red, and the color intensity is the same on all over the crystal surface, if so, there is a high chance that the stone is actually dyed and fake.
The color distribution in real aventurine is simply “imperfect“.
The color of real Aventurine is distributed in a natural and organic way, meaning that in one area of the stone we may find the color is rich, and in another area, we notice that the color fades a little bit.
Plus, in the same group of real aventurine stones, we can clearly observe that the stones vary in color intensity (see the picture above), some stones have more saturated colors and other stones are less saturated.
On the other side, if we notice that a group of aventurine is strictly identical in color, a “copy, and paste” kind of color pattern, then they may highly be artificially made.
2. Look for the aventurescence effect
Aventurescence term is uniquely specified to describe the glittery finish of Aventurine stones.
Aventurescence is the glittering appearance produced by the light entering the stone and reflecting via the minuscule reflective specks of minerals.
This visual phenomenon is only spotted in Aventurine crystal, and can not be replicated artificially in other stones.
We may stumble upon some fake aventurine crystal with outrageous, extra saturated colors that represent also a glittery finish that may give the illusion to an Aventurine stone.
Still, if we take a minute and dissect this shimmery appearance, we will notice big chunks of glitters that look identical and well proportioned, which is definitely not the case, if we examine a real Aventurine crystal.
The glitter or the aventurescence effect in the genuine Aventurine crystal is subtle, and distributed in a natural and uneven way, for instance, in one aventurine stone we find big and small glitters that vary in intensity.
Some glitters shine on the surface of the stone, and other glitters emit a dimmed gleam effect in the depth of the stone.
3. Keep an eye on the origin of the stone
Knowing the origin of the Aventurine stone is a big telling sign of its authenticity.
It is one of the indicators that will help you to identify a real Aventurine crystal before purchasing it.
The biggest concentration of Aventurine deposits is located in India.
So, India is by far the most significant commercial generator of Aventurine stones.
However, there are other producers but they are not as large as India, such as Brazil, Tanzania, Spain, and Austria.
So, if you notice that the origin of Aventurine is different from these specific locations, then there is a high chance that the stone is not genuine.
4. Don’t mix “Aventurescent glass” with real Aventurine
It is so crucial to differentiate between Aventurine and Aventurescent glass.
Aventurine is a naturally occurring crystal that belongs to the Quartz family, on the other hand, Aventurescent glass (or Goldstone) is a man-made crystal.
The name Aventurine may cause some confusion in some cases.
Aventuresence Glass is another appellation of Goldstone.
A little back story of the origin of this appellation (Aventurescence Glass) that was originated back in the 17th century:
This appellation is generated by Italian glassmakers that accidentally blended tiny bits of copper into a batch of melted glass, which resulted in a beautiful glittery glassy stone that was named “Avventura”, which means, in English “by chance”.
So, seeing aventurine stones and Goldstone crystals (Aventurescence Glass) side by side may seem identical, however, they are entirely different.
Goldstone is so easy to recognize because the metal inclusions within the stone are more potent and more reflecting to light compared to Aventurine stones.
So, we can conclude that Aventurescent Glass has more powerful aventurescence than natural aventurine crystals.
Quick answers to some of questions that you may have in mind
How to tell if Blue Aventurine in real?
First thing to know that the same indicators stated above about Green Aventurine are applied to Blue Aventurine, the difference here is in the color aspect of the stone.
Real Blue aventurine is distinguished by a blue color that differs in intensity, meaning that you may find some Aventurine stones that display a pale blue color with saturated blue lines that encircle the stone and others presents a navy blue color. Plus, the stone exhibits tiny and slightly bigger shiny particles that give it a glittery appearance.
Do not mix Blue Aventurine with Blue Goldstone, they are in fact quite different.
Blue Goldstone presents an intense black blue color with tiny shiny particles that are packed next to each other in form of little dots.
So if we compare it with Blue Aventurine, the color of Goldstone is way darker. Plus, the shiny effect in Aventurine is more subtle unlike Goldstone’s finish that is potent.
Next, the glittery inclusions in Blue Aventurine differs in size unlike Goldstone’s specks that are quite uniformed.
How to tell if Red Aventurine is real?
Red Aventurine is the red variety of Aventurine stones, the color of this stone represents the presence of hematin and micas which gives the stone this unique red-brown hue.
Real Red Aventurine presents a red hue that varies between a bright orangy-red to a more darker red color which the well-known aventurine shiny inclusions that gives the stone a natural spangled aspect.
Do not mix Red Aventurine with Red Goldstone, the signs I will mention next will help you draw a clear and sharp distinction between these two stone.
Red Goldstone is a man-made stone, it is distinguished by a uniformed red color that does not change in intensity from one stone to another unlike Red Aventurine that naturally display a broad spectrum of color that varies between an orangy-red, yellowy-red and a more intense red shades.
Plus, the glittery specks in these two stones that are quite dissimilar.
Red Goldstone presents potent glitters that are quite abundant and fill the totality of the stone’s surface, unlike Red Aventurine that presents a subtle and ultra fine glittery aspect with way less shiny inclusions.
How to tell if raw Aventurine is real?
All the sings that we discussed in this article are all about the polished version of Aventurine, but what about the unpolished raw and untouched Aventurine stone?
Raw Aventurine presents a waxy an relatively smooth appearance with white, brown and grayish spots and lines distributed all over the stone, along side shiny reflective specks that when the stone is polish they will transform into the shiny inclusions that Aventurine is well-known for.
These inclusions in Raw Aventurine vary from one variety of aventurine to another and are responsible for the brilliant effects of the stone.
The most common inclusions are micas and hematin which give the stone a red-brown color.
Inclusions of muscovite or fuchsite are responsible for its green color, the most widespread.
There is also a blue variety of aventurine: dumortierite. This blue variation is however very rare.
Summary table – All you need to know
Real Aventurine signs
Description
Uneven color distribution
Imperfect color distribution, color intensity changes from one stone to another, as well as in the same stone. This key detail is applied on all Aventurine stones (green, blue, red), the colors varies from a pale share to a more intense shade.
Aventurescence effect
It is named after the glittery appearance of Aventurine. This stone displays shimmery inclusions that are distributed unevenly and in different sizes (from tiny to more apparent ones).
Stone’s origin
It is present most abundantly in India. Also located in other places in the word: Brazil, Tanzania, Spain, Austria.
Be aware of the term “Aventurescent glass”
Aventurescent glass=Goldstone=man made crystal (unlike Aventurine) with even color distribution and shiny particles that are presented in an even way and preoccupy the totality of the stone.
Final thoughts
Unfortunately, the market can present a lot of fake crystals that are marketed as genuine ones.
Hence, identifying real Aventurine is essential to benefit from the natural and nurturing healing properties of this stone.
So, how to tell if Aventurine is real?
Real aventurine is identified through natural-looking colors that don’t look extra saturated, these hues shouldn’t appear perfectly distributed on the surface of the surface.
Plus, genuine Aventurine stones display what we call the Aventurescence effect which is basically a unique glittery finish, these glitters vary in beaming intensity, some glitters look extremely shinny, and others appear slightly dimmed.
To share my newfound knowledge, I decided to create a website dedicated to gemstones and crystals. I wanted to provide readers with all the information they need about the stones they are interested in. I wanted to give readers a comprehensive guide to understanding gemstones.
