Image cropped from the original posted in the whatsthisrock subreddit. I suppose in all fairness one could refer to such a thing as an objet d'art, but they are typically marketed as an exotic and valuable mineral oddity to deceive the buyer.
Addendum: another example -
The Reddit discussion thread says the fakes are even present at souks in Morocco.
Addendum: here is a real Thomsonite (with mesolite) specimen -
Gorgeous.
I have bought a few fake fossils recently. However , they were marketed as being fake. They still look authentic and were really inexpensive. Still a neat thing to have.
ReplyDeleteI went to the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show a few years ago and on my first day nearly bought some fantastic amber with a spider in it. The sellers didn't speak English so I couldn't ask details. The price was right. Luckily a friend talked me down before I went for it - the price was too good to be true. A couple days later I saw some really amazing amber with petrified wood and the price reflected its apparent authenticity.
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