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| Matte "Gleamy" Glass Beads--NOT Moonstones |
Thank you to reader Jeri--who sent me a message regarding a "gem" being sold on ebay, called "Gleamy Moonstone." I did a search on ebay, and got 2600+ results. ALL of these strands of beads are from China, and NONE of them are actual, natural Moonstones or Rainbow Moonstones, as they claim. These are just pressed glass beads! They come in a variety of colors and either in a matte (frosted) finish or polished. All are round beads. Some "creative" sellers are marketing these glass beads as being from "Sri Lanka" or other locations. None of that is true---these are just man-made glass beads from China.
There are a large number of individual shops from China selling these, but all feature the same stock photos. Here are some examples of these glass beads---which are not gemstones---and range in price from a few cents a strand on auction, to buy-it-now strands from about $4 depending on the diameter of the glass beads:
"WHITE GLEAMY" BEADS:
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| "White Gleamy" Glass Beads -- NOT Moonstone |
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| Matte "White Gleamy" Glass Beads |
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"GREY GLEAMY" BEADS:
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| "Grey Gleamy" Glass Beads |
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| "Grey Gleamy" Glass |
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OTHER COLORS
There are a variety of colors of this glass bead---pink, blue, yellow, green, teal, purple, in addition to the grey and white. These glass beads from China come in either a matte or shiny finish, and are always round, and are very inexpensive.
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| Various Colors of Glass Beads |
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| More Colors of Glass Beads |
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Here's a strand of supposed "Sri Lanka Moonstones" which are Opalite Glass beads:
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| Glass Opalite Being Sold as Moonstones |
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There are a couple of sellers on Etsy who are selling strands or jewelry made from these beads, and are describing them accurately as "Gleamy Moonstone glass beads" so that's good.
BUYER BEWARE---Ebay is full of scams regarding gemstones, and this is yet another. These are not "natural" or "genuine" gemstones, NOT moonstones, they're not from Sri Lanka or Burma or Madagascar....they are just pressed glass round beads. They are worth what they're selling them for---a couple of dollars a strand. If you love the look of these glass beads, they're a great price! But if you THINK you're buying a gemstone, you are not! Just a heads up.
