Birthstone Meanings

How can you tell a real amethyst from an imitation? ?

I found a really sparkling gem? in a box of trinkets at home I want to find out if its the real thing.

Public Comments

1. There is only purple glass as a substitute, no one bothers with imitation amathyst since its not valuable. If youre really lucky it might be a saphire
2. Not True! There most certainly is man made purple quartz (which is the same thing as synthetic amethyst) And also, imitation is not the same thing as synthetic. It is true that purple glass is a common impostor. So are purple cz's. One good way to make sure your amethyst is really an amethyst and is not man made is to look for color bands. It is best if you have a magnifying loupe to do this, but your eyes might find them too. The color bands should be straight lines, no curves. Having them will prove it is an amethyst, but not having them won't prove it's not. You can see pictures of color bands and lots more information on the site below.