Natural, treated or man-made

Most stones in our shop are natural stones that have been tumbled, polished or left raw. A few have been treated, and one popular stone is man-made. We think you should always know which is which.

Natural, then shaped

Tumbling, polishing and carving change a stone's shape, not what it is. A tumbled amethyst or a polished quartz sphere is still a natural stone.

Color-enhanced

Agate is naturally soft gray, brown and white. The very bright blue, green, purple and pink agates you see in many shops, including some of ours, are usually dyed to bring out their banding. Howlite is also often dyed to imitate other stones. The stone underneath is real, but the color isn't natural.

Heat-treated

Much of the citrine on the market is amethyst that was heated to turn it golden. Natural citrine tends to be paler and more even in color.

Man-made

Opalite is glass made to glow like moonlight. It isn't natural opal, and our stone guide says so. Many people love it for its look and price.

Surface-enhanced

The bright rainbow shine on bornite (peacock ore) is often brought out with a treatment. The copper ore itself is natural.

Our promise

Our stone guide notes when a stone is commonly treated or man-made. If you ever want to know more about a specific piece, email us at sales@oolbrite.com and we'll tell you what we know.