Tips on how to identify genuine Lapis Lazuli gemstone (and avoid the fakes!)

Lapis lazuli has been sought after and used in jewellery for thousands of years. It's rich blue colour, along with those sparkling flecks of fools gold iron pyrites make it truly irresistible! Unfortunately, lapis lazuli has also become one of the most faked gemstones in the world. It's not easy to tell the difference between fake lazuli and the real gemstone. Many cheap minerals and gemstones (such as poor quality jasper, white howlite, spinel, sodalite or calcite) can be dyed to imitate it, while glass and plastic can been used to copy lapis lazuli too. Here are some quick tips to hopefully help you spot genuine good quality Lapis Lazuli (and avoid the fakes) .......

• Firstly, look at the price. The best lapis lazuli commands high prices. For example, if you see a string of lazuli beads for only a couple of pounds/dollers or so, they could be fake.

• Poor quality Lapis lazuli can be dyed. Lapis lazuli is made up of a mix of minerals: lazurite (which gives it that distinctive blue colour), white calcite, dark grey-blue sodalite and golden 'fools gold' flecks of iron pyrites. Too much white in the gemstone means it classed as a cheaper calcite, too much dark blue-grey means it's a cheaper sodalite. Poor quality lapis lazuli can be dyed to make it appear more desirable (see below photo).

• To test if your lapis lazuli has been dyed, simply wipe your stone with acetone or alcohol. If it loses its colour it's either a fake, or a poor quality lazuli dyed to imitate better quality lazuli.

A blue-dyed lapis lazuli braclet - parts of the rock are far too dark blue (a good giveaway) of over dye. There's also a lot of 'fools gold' flecks in the stones - this isn't desirable, and good quality lazuli has very little in it.

• Genuine lapis lazuli is around 5.5 on the MOHS gemstone hardness scale (diamonds are 10) which means it will just about scratch glass, though can itself be scratched with a knife.

• Look for the 'fool's gold' (a.k.a iron pyrites) in your lazuli. These are little random golden flecks and tiny lines of dark metallic gold in the gemstone. Genuine 'fools gold' is surprisingly difficult to imitate - it usually ends up looking far too uniform and 'perfect' for it to be real.

Genuine Lapis Lazuli is expensive to buy.

• 'Reconstructed Lapis Lazuli means that bits of the gemstone have been ground up and then glued together to make a new stone or bead. It's not really a fake as it does contain lazuli... but then it's not the true real thing either. Re-constituted lapis lazuli often has an unatural pebble dash feel and look to it.

• If the Lapis Lazuli is simply too uniformly blue, and is cheap to buy, then it's probably fake. Only the very best top quality Lazuli is a uniform blue colour, with virtually no fools gold. It is incredibly rare, deeply sought after and costs an absolute fortune; this is the type of lazuli you only see set into the finest 18k or 22k gold settings.

1. 

   Vintage genuine Lapis Lazuli bracelet.

• Plastic faux Lapis Lazuli can be identified by holding it and tapping it on your teeth. Plastics will feel almost 'warm' (ie not cold like glass or gemstone), and will make a dull quiet clink when gently tapped against your teeth.

• As with a lot of gemstones, lapis lazuli can be very cold to the touch. Although glass imitations  are cold as well, they will quickly warm up when held - real gemstones often remain cool even after fairly prolonged holding.

• Glass faux Lapis Lazuli generally has no gold specks in it, although some top quality copies, such as Gilson Lazuli does. However, the flecks are too smooth and uniformly patterned to be real, and the blue colour is too even. Gilson Lazuli is collected by vintage costume jewellery lovers as it's quite rare in itself.

• Real lapis lazuli will leave a blue-ish mark on a rough surface. When it's cut in half, lazuli emits a foul odour; it contains sulfur, and this oxides (and smells foul) on reaction to the air. Both of these tests will of course completely ruin your stone, so I don't recommend them!

Lapis Lazuli should be a lovely azure blue colour, as in these fine earrings.

Hope these tips help :)

 

An Info Guide to British Hallmarks on gold and silver jewellery

Nearly every country has its own systems regarding precious metals. In the UK and many parts of Europe we have detailed hallmarking systems. In other countries (for example the USA) no such systems exists, and a simple '14K' or '18K' stamp is the norm. This article is a quick-glance new buyers guide to jewellery in the British system only. For further information on hallmarking please contact your local Trading Standards, auctioneers or Assay Office. Please note this guide doesn't cover bullion or high purity coins or gold objects, just jewellery.

Beginners guide to hallmarks - the basics


In the United Kingdom we have a system of protection when buying gold, silver, platinum or palladium jewellery called hallmarking. This means that in general, any precious metal to be sold in the UK must be stamped with a series of tiny 'hallmarks' somewhere on the item. It is one of the oldest laws in the world regarding consumer protection, dating back to the 14th Century. Hallmarks tell you who made the piece, which Assay Office it was tested at, what purity the metal is (eg - 375/ 9ct gold) and usually what year it was made in (will be represented by an alphabet letter).

Generally speaking, a simple 9k.....375.....14k.....585.....18k.....or 750 stamp on its own is not a legal hallmark in the United Kingdom on modern gold jewellery (gold jewellery under 1g doesn't need to be hallmarked).  Always ask a seller about its full UK hallmarks (or equivalent if outside the UK) for your own protection. Also, 8k...10k... 21k stamps are not legally recognized in the United Kingdom, and it is against the law to sell jewellery as 'gold' with 8k, 10k or 21k stamps (instead it's called yellow or white metal, depending on the colour).


Purities of precious metals

GOLD: In the UK gold comes in four legal purities for jewellery: ..9ct (375 parts gold to 1000 parts alloy)....14ct (585 parts gold).....18ct (750parts gold)......22ct (916 parts gold). All modern gold jewelry over 1 gram must be properly hallmarked by an Assay Office. Occasionally you may see '990' as part of the hallmark; this is also recognized finesse amount, though is rarely used for jewellery, and must be accompanied by the normal Assay Office hallmarks. Any gold jewellery stamped '10k' is not legally recognized in the UK.

SILVER: In the UK, silver comes in three legal purities used for jewellery....Britannia (958 parts silver to 1000 parts alloy)......Sterling (925 parts silver to 1000 alloy).... and 800 (800 parts silver to 1000 parts alloy). All silver over 7.88 grams must be properly fully hallmarked by an Assay Office. Silver under 7.88g doesn't need to be hallmarked, and may have a simple stamp (eg, '925').

PLATINUM: In the UK, platinum comes in three legal purities used for jewellery:...950....900....850. All platinum over 0.5 grams must be properly hallmarked by an Assay Office.

PALLADIUM: In the UK, palladium comes in two legal purities used for jewellery.....500....950. All palladium over 1 gram must be properly hallmarked by an Assay Office.

ABOVE: A well detailed set of Sterling silver British hallmarks on a silver pendant. From the top; the makers initials, below this is a leopards head (meaning it was tested/ assayed in London), then below is the Lion Passant (meaning the item is 925 Sterling Silver), then the italic letter 'C', meaning the year it was made was 1977, and finally a special mark bearing the Queen's head; 1977 was the year of the Queen's Silver Jubilee, so Assay Office's created a special stamp to celebrate this.

   
 You can learn how to read a British hallmark in this tutorial here.


Try and always confirm with any jewellery business, jewellers or pawnbrokers (both real world and internet) that the gold you wish to purchase is fully British hallmarked.  Avoid sellers who refuse to do this, or claim a UK hallmark isn't necessary. Also avoid shops that claim 10K gold is legally recognized in the UK - it isn't, and if you decide to sell your 10K stamped jewellery item at a later date you will legally have to describe as either white or yellow metal, not gold. You'd be surprised how many sellers and shops don't know or care about hallmarking law, and will tell you anything so they can simply sell the item. This goes for for both 'real life' shops and internet shops.

 
ABOVE: This 9ct gold ring has hallmarks to the back of the band, on its underside. Hallmarks will often be seen as tiny dark squares to the naked eye, like in this photo.



ABOVE: A simple 'number' stamp like this is not a legally recognized hallmark in the United Kingdom, with the exception of a proven antique. This is a big area of fake gold jewellery, with sellers claiming a stamp like this on their modern gold jewellery is a hallmark - it isn't.





A note about 12ct gold and 15ct gold jewellery

There used to be other recognized purities of gold on old vintage jewellery, namely 12ct and 15ct gold. In 1932 12ct and 15ct gold was replaced by a new 14ct gold purity. As long as 12ct or 15ct jewellery are stamped on pre-1932 jewellery the hallmarked is legal. It is not legal on post 1932 jewellery. 

Also, if you come across an item of gold jewellery which is stamped '12ct' or '12k' you need to check if there is are any initials nearby that look like 'RG' or 'GF'. This means the jewellery is actually Rolled Gold or Gold Filled, both simply a type of gold plating and not solid gold. Again, ask the seller to photograph or list all the hallmarks if necessary.


Advice for antique jewellery made from precious metals

This is where it gets complicated! The hallmarking rules for old vintage and antique jewellery can be quite different to modern precious metal jewellery, and hallmarks are possibly not always needed if it is a proven antique or made before a certain date. I strongly recommend that you seek the advise of a professional jeweller, dealer or auction house if you believe you have a valuable un-hallmarked item of jewellery and they can help you further.

Many antique gold or antique silver items for sale by dealers are offered as un-hallmarked 'acid tested'. This 'acid test' is often poorly carried out and can badly damage jewellery, lowering the value of a piece. Also, antique jewellery was often very heavily gold plated, meaning the acid test won't be able to give proper results anyway. If a seller has acid tested a piece then have a friendly chat to them as to how and why they've come to the conclusion the item is antique to begin with. Nicely ask them to photograph the area it was tested (to see the possible damage),  and finally make sure they offer a full money back guarantee if the jewellery is not as described on further investigation. If the seller refuses any of these requests then simply avoid them. Genuine sellers are always happy to help any way they can, and will not take offense to questions if asked in a kind, genuinely enquiringly and friendly manner.

And finally.....
The law on precious metals is called the UK Hallmarks Act 1973 (with amendments). Breaking this law it is a criminal offense, punishable with a heavy fine or even jail. If you believe a shop has broken this law you should contact your local trading standards office. Anyone who sells precious metals (including fine jewellery) must have a Dealers Notice. You can see one here (opens PDF file) : DEALERS NOTICE






 You can learn how to read a British hallmark in this tutorial here.


This article is for general information purposes only, and not be be used for or as any kind of legal advise. While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided in this report, the author cannot assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. If advice concerning legal or related matters is needed, the services of a fully qualified professional should always be sought, such as Trading Standards, a professional auctioneers or a UK Assay Office. This article is not intended for use as a source of legal advice.