Welcome to opalholicsanonymous.com where opal season lasts forever.

The ISG recently did a field trip to the Plush mines in Oregon. I'm still upset that I'm tied here without a critter sitter and couldn't go - sniff -, but if you want to see what REAL sunstone looks like right out of the ground, check out this video and enjoy the slideshow of their mining adventures...

Pink,Are they saying those black-leopard spots are burned-smoked wello? I see they forgot to mention untreated black opal from up my way. RR Thanks for the great article Pink..I guess we'll all have to be even more careful buying welo's from now on...how would you tell? If there's a way to treat an...

Well, it had to happen sooner or later, and now we have a treatment being done to Welo opals that we need to be aware of, and watch out for so the treatment is disclosed when they are sold. It seems that Mexican Contra Luz opal, being another hydrophane variety, was treated with smoke back in the 80...

Nice! But, according to the report, this scam has been about for 10 years already? WHY was it not widely publicised when first detected? For us lesser mortals, the advice to treat any 'Haueyne' > 1ct with grave suspicion is seriously good advice. Also, buy the rough and when you are satisfied with ...

Duh!! The mere size of these things should have been a big red flag to the buyers.

ARTIFICIAL BLUE GLASS SOLD AS RARE GEMSTONE HAÜYNE!
by GIT-Gem Testing Laboratory
July 11, 2012

http://www.git.or.th/eng/testing_center ... _final.pdf

Found this from the Society of American Silversmiths, posted on the ISG forum today. What a surprise, eh? ...NOT!! Buyers of Chinese "Sterling" Beware! Fake Chinese Sterling Poster "Fake Chinese sterling jewelry and holloware is a growing problem on eBay and rapidly spreading througho...

I'm not sure where to post this one so since this topic is for impostors and imitations, I decided to put it here. Counterfeit Money Orders "Should you accept a money order as payment for goods sold online? How do you know if it's real? Identifying counterfeit money orders is easy if you know w...

This is extremely important for all interested in the andesine/labradorite debacle brought to light by the ISG last year, and confirmed in this report: Interim Report; 14-Sep-2009 The Red Feldspar Project George R. Rossman, California Institute of Technology "...Is There a Mine in Tibet That Pr...

Let this be a reminder to all of us that there's always someone out there who will go to great lengths to deceive others for profit. Alarming Rough Diamond Imitations in the Market By Thomas Hainschwang The Phenakite / Topaz Diamond Rough Scam "Until a few years ago rough diamonds were relative...

Thanks great article Pink. I shocked a dealer/cutter at a gem show ~20 years ago picking up garnets with a magnet and getting a very rough indication of iron content. Did ISG testing indicate magnetic orientation? Should the stone face a pole or a side of the magnet? The article made me think of th...