Testing for Fake Stones from India



I recently purchased some stones that were supposed to be ruby, emerald, sapphire, topaz and quartz. They came from the seller currently using ID gems*hub. He also sells under other ID's. Upon receiving the stones I checked the hardness. All could easily be scratched with a pocket knife or a piece of glass. None were able to make a scratch on the glass. Ruby and Sapphire have a hardness of 9. Topaz 8. Quartz 7. Emerald can vary but is 7.5 or greater. Glass has a hardness of about 5 and steel also can vary but is about 4.5. So to test hardness for example, 8 can scratch 7, but 7 can not scratch 8. I also bought a small piece of quartz at a local rock shop for $1 to use to test hardness. None of the stones that came from India were able to scratch the quartz. All stones I received were fake. Now return shipping to India is a minimum of $25. With tracking #, it can be $90 or more. These Sellers know it cost more to return the item than the cost of the item itself. Some offer 1/2 refund and you keep the stone which is basically an admission that it is fake. They also delay refund for 60 days so that it is impossible to leave feedback. This seller made promise after promise and claimed he had sick wife and spent all his time at the hospital and begged me to change my feedback. If you get a fake item, please post negative feedback and do not change it.