Cherry Volcano Quartz: did I go to far?

Hey Folks, This is always a good topic to have a thread for and share with in the forums. I hope folks will feel comfortable asking questions and sharing information here about stones and how to accurately identify them as much as possible.

I'm curious what you all think about my response to a posting of "Cherry Volcano Quartz" that I just saw. I have a number of bead pendant dealers marked as favorites and get their newsletters. Today, which happens to be EARTH DAY, a vendor with the name "Earth_(something)_" in their userid, sent me an e-mail update of their new stuff. It's all inexpensive focal beads, mostly natural stone, and cut in China. On their new stuff page were multiple pieces of "Cherry Volcano Quartz". Since the vendor is a "top rated seller", based here in the US, with over a 1,000 listings and a feedback rating in the thousands, and she identifies her resin pieces as resin, I think it's safe to assume she knows that what she's selling as "Quartz" is pink and gold swirled glass....

Anyhow, it being Earth Day and everything, I got a little bee in my bonnet and sent the seller the following message,
"Hi Earth_(something)_, Happy Earth Day! The Earth asked me to to tell you that you must know very well that this Cherry Volcano Quartz and all the other pieces you have labeled as such is NOT quartz. It's glass. Don't you feel any shame listing this next to all the other natural stones of the Earth and intentionally mislabeling it as "quartz"? All the genuine quartz on Earth asked me to tell you that it's offended that you call yourselves Earth_(something)_ and you go around misrepresenting the stones of the Earth on eBay. I hope in the future you'll label things correctly. Thanks. I just had to get that off my chest or the Earth wouldn't let me sleep tonight. Have a nice day! Regards, David"

So my question is, did I go toooooo far in calling this vendor out on mislabeling her glass beads?

Also, feel free to ask questions and vent about mis-identified stones here!

Gemstone Identification and MISidentification...

Howdy Folks, there is SO much out there in the gem & jewelry industry in the way of beautiful gemstones, as well as beautiful simulants, beautiful glass, beautiful resins, and much more to be used as adornment. I'm the first to admit that I can be a bit of a "rock snob". Yet I also really appreciate fabulous fakes. It's hard for the lay person and sometimes even the expert to tell the difference, between natural and man made or enhanced materials. I just wanted to start a thread where folks can ask questions and solicit informed feedback. It's often really hard to identify a stone by a picture, but some things are glaringly obvious. I'll start by sharing a few things...
MULTICOLOR or COLORED TURQUOISE: There is no such thing! A recent search brought up nearly 3,000 items on eBay and they are all either dyed howlite, dyed magnesite, or reconstituted powders and pigments that are mostly resin. Anything you see that is multicolored and striped is absolutely manufactured. Colbaugh Processing in Kingman, Arizona is a major American stabilizer & reconstituter of natural turquoises. About a decade ago they came up with a meterial they call "Rainbow Calsilica" which is very similiar. I have cut this material and I have seen the "multicolor turquoise" beads. While they may have genuine ground up rock IN the mix, most of the material is stabilizing resin and colored dyes or pigments. Turquoise does NOT come in purple, or white, or orange, or bright greens, or chartreuse, or any other color other than shades of light blues, sky blues, and blue greens. Natural untreated turquoise may absorb bodily oils over time and become quite greenish in color, but they won't "scream" green!
CHERRY QUARTZ: It's pink included glass made in China.
GREEN AMETHYST: Amethyst is quartz with enough iron present to make it ANY shade of lavendar to purple. If the quartz is green, it CANNOT be called amethyst. The correct name for Green Amethyst is PRASIOLITE.
GOLDSTONE: A beautiful glass that is made with copper crystals precipitated in the glass. Developed by Italian glass makers hundreds of years ago and hard to make! I really appreciate goldstone and it used to be hard to get, but now the Chinese seem to have cracked the production code and there is quite a bit of it available. It comes in brown, blue (which is deep blue to purplish) and occassionally a deep green. The Italian word for goldstone is aventurrina. Here's a great link for the history of goldstone.

That's it for now! More to follow....

535 ct Emerald Bead: Incredible Hulk, or Greenman?

Hey Folks, a quick QUIZ!!! Does this solid emerald crystal bead look more like the face of the INCREDIBLE HULK, or more like the face of the GREENMAN?

Genuine emerald! A fusion of several massive, specimen grade, crystals. I'm not sure if the rough is from Colombia or Brazil, as I bought the rough in Tucson from an Indian dealer (dot, not feather). I saw a face in it right away and didn't want to do too much to enhance this piece other than to polish the face on half the front and then polish half the edges and all the back. A very interesting piece. I'm curious if others see the Incredible Hulk, or if they see a Greenman, or they just think I'm crazier than ever....

Here's the back...


A great green color for Spring and this is the Birthstone for MAY! Thanks for letting me share!