Buyer Beware
I wish we didn't have to think of such things, but something that happened at work the other day highlighted the need for people who buy stones, especially expensive one, to take care.
I work in a metaphysical store that sells books, gifts, jewelry, and many lovely stones, which is both great and terrible for my mild stone addiction.
The other day we had a couple in the store near closing time. They were nice, and while the wife was paying, I was chatting with the husband. He excitedly told me that he had something unusual with him, and took out a small heart, about an inch from tip to bumps. It was made of opalite, a pretty kind of fused glass that has a vaguely opalish glow inside. He was telling me about how he got it in Holbrook (sp?), Arizona and had tried to make it into a necklace and blah blah blah. I showed him the opalite hearts we sell (we sell very few manmade stones, only opalite and goldstone, though some of our natural stones have been treated to bring out their color, like many specimens you'll find), larger than his, and as he picked one up I saw his eyes widen.
"Honey!" he said, taking it to his wife, "Look what they have here. And so cheap! 8 dollars! I paid 85 for mine but, well, mine's an opal." At that point I realized: he thought the little glass heart he bought in Arizona was an opal, and had paid 85 bucks for the pleasure of that lie. Oh, crap.
His wife told him that his little heart had more of a fire inside, and therefore couldn't be the same material, and I didn't dare correct them because I felt bad enough about accidentally causing him to second guess himself. If I'd known he thought it was real, I wouldn't have said anything because what could be gained by that?
Now, 85 for an opal of that size WOULD be a good deal, but man, someone lied to that poor guy big time and sold him glass as an opal. On the other hand, I feel like opals are pretty distinctive, and one should be able to tell them apart.
To review: this is opalite.
This is opal. Pretty different, eh?
So, buyer beware of jerks who try to sell you glass and say it's an opal.
X-posted to
crystalhealing.
I work in a metaphysical store that sells books, gifts, jewelry, and many lovely stones, which is both great and terrible for my mild stone addiction.
The other day we had a couple in the store near closing time. They were nice, and while the wife was paying, I was chatting with the husband. He excitedly told me that he had something unusual with him, and took out a small heart, about an inch from tip to bumps. It was made of opalite, a pretty kind of fused glass that has a vaguely opalish glow inside. He was telling me about how he got it in Holbrook (sp?), Arizona and had tried to make it into a necklace and blah blah blah. I showed him the opalite hearts we sell (we sell very few manmade stones, only opalite and goldstone, though some of our natural stones have been treated to bring out their color, like many specimens you'll find), larger than his, and as he picked one up I saw his eyes widen.
"Honey!" he said, taking it to his wife, "Look what they have here. And so cheap! 8 dollars! I paid 85 for mine but, well, mine's an opal." At that point I realized: he thought the little glass heart he bought in Arizona was an opal, and had paid 85 bucks for the pleasure of that lie. Oh, crap.
His wife told him that his little heart had more of a fire inside, and therefore couldn't be the same material, and I didn't dare correct them because I felt bad enough about accidentally causing him to second guess himself. If I'd known he thought it was real, I wouldn't have said anything because what could be gained by that?
Now, 85 for an opal of that size WOULD be a good deal, but man, someone lied to that poor guy big time and sold him glass as an opal. On the other hand, I feel like opals are pretty distinctive, and one should be able to tell them apart.
To review: this is opalite.
This is opal. Pretty different, eh?
So, buyer beware of jerks who try to sell you glass and say it's an opal.
X-posted to
crystalhealing. 
