Malachite - Real or Fake?

I love the color green, and Malachite is a mixture of deep, rich greens and bright, Springtime greens.  It's such a beautiful stone.  But what is it really?  Are there really fakes out there?  How can you tell?

Polished Slab of Malachite

I have a fabulous pendant that I'm thinking about putting in my shop.  It's from my Aunt, and actually there are two of these BIG artisan handcrafted pendants, one with Malachite and two colors of Mother of Pearl, and the second one has Malachite and a Biwa pearl, both with unique sterling settings.  I don't know which one I want to keep!  So I was trying to do some research on them, because they don't have any notes or tags with them about their origin, and I hoped I would see something similar.  (I did not!)

But I started reading about how a LOT of Malachite is fake!!  WHAT?  I didn't even know that.  I live in the desert southwest, and there are lots of Native American jewelry pieces with Malachite, so I see it often, but unlike turquoise (I know there are lots of fakes) it never occurred to me that there are fakes passed off as real.  And it's a little difficult to tell real from fake, but here is some info that might help.

First of all:  What is Malachite?

Malachite Stalagtite

Malachite is actually a mineral consisting of copper hydroxyl carbonate.  It forms near limestone, in stalagmites, in fractures, deep underground.  Individual crystals are rare but do occur.  Malachite results from the weathering of copper ores and is often found together with azurite, goethite, and calcite.  Malachite is similar to azurite except for color, and aggregates of the two minerals occur frequently. Malachite is typically associated with copper deposits around limestone, the source of the carbonate.

Large quantities of beautiful malachite have been mined in Russia, but it can be found worldwide in Africa, Morocco,New South Wales, France, and the Southwestern United States (Arizona and New Mexico).

 Are there Fakes?  How can you tell?

Like all popular stones, there are simulated Malachite pieces in the marketplace, especially over the internet.  Sometimes, a jewelry item will be described as "simulated" but sometimes that is in VERY small print, buried in a description somewhere.  Other words that may be used are "Faux", "Imitation", or "Man-Made". Sometimes sellers try to pass off the fakes as real.  And sometimes, a seller is misled or mistaken.  Here are some ways to tell if Malachite is real:

•  It's cold to the touch.  
•  It's heavy.
•  It's hard.

      It is heavier than solid glass or plastic, and feels ‘dense’ and cold when held and touched.  The striped patterns, called "banding", is not uniform in its patterns and colors.   You’ll find circles and thin to thick parts in the patterns, and dark to mid-green hues.

• Genuine Malachite is often hand-cut and hand-polished.  Beads aren't uniform in size and shape.  You can see the cutting and polishing marks on the Malachite sometimes.
• Genuine malachite is not cheap!  If you see strands of malachite for a few dollars, it's not real. 
• If you look closely at real Malachite, you may see tiny crystals visible in the stone.
• Some genuine Malachite jewelry is treated with wax for higher durability, as it's a soft mineral.

Fake malachite comes in many forms:

Fake Malachite Beads

      There are fake Malachite "trade names" that are giveaways as phony.  These include blue malachite, emerald malachite, siliceous malachite and copper malachite.
      Plastic fake malachite is lightweight and warm to the touch.  It would melt if touched with a hot needle or you can smell the melting plastic.  Glass fake malachite tends is cold to the touch like genuine malachite, but because it’s glass it will warm up in your hand much quicker. Glass malachite is often made into beads. There are polymer clay fakes also, with how-to tutorials online---this really looks more blue and quite fake.  One time, for a guest bedroom, I even faux-painted a wooden desk (just the top) to look like malachite--it really did look like it!  Just with paint!!

Reconstituted Malachite

Re-processed or reconstituted malachite is made from crushed leftovers of the gemstone, mixed with dyes and resins, similar to reconstituted turquoise.  Reprocessed malachite can be identified by its exaggerated, often jagged banded patterns, uniform stripes and unrealistic green hues; it’s also usually feels lighter. Sometimes it's more of a blue-hue.

In what world is this Malachite??

UPDATE 7/15/13:  I just came across the WORST fake Malachite I could ever imagine (see picture)!!!  It's so terrible that it's funny and sad at the same time.  I mean, first of all, there is no such thing as "blue malachite".  And second, this looks like (badly) hand-painted river rocks or clay or something!  It's from China and you can see the listing HERE if you want (Aliexpress). In fact, I just looked at their other products and it's a MESS.  Lots of glass beads that they're calling such things as "Kunzite" (purple and green glass!), "watermelon tourmaline" which is the glass that others call "cherry quartz", cobalt glass that they call "sapphire", etc. etc.  YIKES.




How to take care of your Malachite jewelry:

• Do not use a steam or ultrasonic cleaner

• Because Malachite is very soft and easily scratched, I would advise against wearing a malachite ring but instead opt for a pendant or earring, they are less likely to come in contact with hard objects or a heat source.

• Store it separately from other gemstones. Most likely every other gemstone you own, especially faceted gemstones, are able to scratch your malachite jewelry.

• Clean it with lukewarm water, a mild soap and, only when needed, a soft brush. Use a soft cloth to dry.

I do have two genuine malachite items in my etsy shop that are GORGEOUS:  a beautiful Etruscan style gold vermeil bangle bracelet, and a fabulous (I mean FABULOUS!) Etruscan style ring with enamel in gold vermeil.  Genuine malachite, guaranteed:

Ring is HERE.

Bracelet is HERE.



UPDATE: I'm sorry but both of those malachite pieces are sold. But I do have some genuine malachite necklaces, so please check my Etsy or Amazon store. Thanks!