How to Tell If Jasper is Real or Fake in 6 Easy Ways

Jasper is a gemstone found in many different colors and belongs to the quartz family of minerals with an aggregate of silica minerals. Read to know how to tell if Jasper is Real or Fake.

The name jasper means ‘spotted stone and comes from the Old French word ‘jaspre’ and Latin’ iaspidem’. Some believe that the name Jasper is of Persian origin —in Persian, the mineral is called yashp. As the archetypal collectible beach pebble, Jasper consists of massive, fine-grained quartz, is relatively dense, and contains significant amounts of other materials, mainly iron oxides. 

We will examine to spot the Real Jasper from the Fake one in 6 Easy ways in this article. 

Due to its vibrant colors, opaque appearance, and patterns, Jasper is often used in the jewelry, fashion, and interior decorations industry. In addition, Jasper is one of the oldest naturally existing gemstones on Earth, and this renders it a vibrant and broad history of its own.

How to tell if Jasper is Real or Fake?

Observe Coloration 

Jasper comes in almost all colors, including white, blue, red, green, yellow, orange, brown, gray, black, banded, and multicolored. The appeal of Jasper to the fashion industry comes from its existence in different patterns and formations. It can be spotted, solid, ringed, striped, patchy, etc. 

Jasper commonly occurs as a dark brownish red, but it may also be yellow or black. As opposed to agate, it exhibits bands of colors rather than concentric ones. Red is caused by finely divided hematite, while brown and yellow are caused by goethite.

White, yellowish, or greyish materials may appear porcelain due to the presence of clay. When the agent-causing color is present only in small quantities, Jasper tends to grade into a translucent, fine-grained material known as chert, hornstone, and novaculite. This material range from near-colorless through yellow to reddish or brown.

Since the color-causing agent is intrinsic to Jasper’s chemical composition, a Real Jasper will not lose or change its color over time or due to exposure to extended hours of sun. 

There are thousands of types of Jasper because of the multitude of colors and patterns and places in the world it is found, but some of the common ones that you are likely to encounter in the market are: 

• Biggs Jasper is a rare jasper mineral found in Oregon, USA, and is valued for its exquisite faded color combinations. Biggs jasper is combined with pearls to make jewelry and is also used as a healing stone.
• African Jasper is also known as the ‘Supreme Nurturer’ and is found in Africa. It is popular because of its rich and creamy color and is held sacred by people around the world.
• Ocean Jasper is one of the most common forms of the mineral and was discovered in 1999. Ocean jasper contains orb-like speckled patterns on it, which makes it notably beautiful because of the silica fluid present in its core. Most jasper minerals are opaque, but Ocean Jasper is faintly translucent, which makes them very desirable and prone to easy fakes in such materials as glass or plastic.                                                                                            

Run an Acetone Test

Oftentimes, Jasper is heat-treated, or other quartz varieties are dyed to give them a highly pigmented coloration. While heat treatment enhances color, it does not necessarily meddle with the compositional traits of the original crystal. So this is not something which you should worry about.

Dyed pebbles and stones marketed as Jasper, on the other hand, could be compositionally diverse, ranging from natural quartz to simply plastic and glass, making it hard to prescribe a single test that would help to identify and avoid all these. One way to check for dyes is to run an acetone test on your gemstone. All you need to do for this is damp a cotton cloth in acetone and rub it on your stone. If the color gives way, then your stone is artificially dyed.

Check for Hardness

Since Jasper is a cryptocrystalline quartz variety, it has the same hardness as quartz. It possesses quartz’s physical properties The hardness test is a great way to guard against such fakes as glass or plastic, which are softer. Jasper’s hardness is 7 on the Mohs scale. 

One way to check the hardness of your Jasper is to scratch its surface with a knife. If it gets scratched easily, it is a fake. In this method, Real Jasper can’t be scratched with the aid of a bit of glass or a knife. Real Jasper is opaque, so obvious specimens can be considered fakes.

Look for Inclusions

Jasper, unlike Agate and other forms of chalcedony, occurs as extensive beds of sedimentary or metamorphic origin. In addition to Jasper, other types of quartz may traverse or be combined with it as breccia which means angular fragments.

Some standard mineral inclusions found in Real Jasper are: 

• The metamorphic rock jaspilite is composed of layers of Jasper alternating with layers of black or reddish hematite.
• Jasponyx is thin-banded Jasper with alternating dark or light bands; the name band jasper or ribbon jasper is also used. 
• Lycian stone or touchstone (basanite), a fine-grained black jasper, is used for testing the streak of gold alloys.

Inquire for the place of Origin

Asking for the place of origin of your gemstone can help you establish its authenticity since certain varieties are produced in specific locales and help you extend a biographic relationship with the rock. While Jasper occurs worldwide, some peculiar types are endemic to some areas of the world. Avoiding being duped by a rock will help you know where the rock comes from. 

• Ribbon Jasper is reported from Okhotsk in eastern Siberia, and other varieties are found in the vicinity of Troitsk and Verkhne Uralsk in the southern Urals.
• India and Venezuela supply red jasper, but the USA’s most varied examples are found.
• Orbicular Jasper is found at Morgan Hill, Santa Clara County, California.
• Arizona’s petrified forest is the prime location for Jasper replacing wood.

Suggested Reading: Petrified Wood Meaning, Healing Properties Benefits and Uses

Observe the Diffusion of Jasper

One way to avoid a fake Ocean jasper is to hold it against a source of diffuse light. A fake ocean jasper, under diffuse light, may appear with patterns suspended in another distinct substance (most commonly resin). In a natural jasper, you should not be able to see the designs floating separately on the surface of the rock.       

Final Comments 

Jasper is absolutely the most diverse stone to be had in any coloration and any viable sample, in spite of scenic picture-like formations. Jasper occurs in lots of varieties and can satisfy any mineral lover. However, please, beware of fakes. Fake Jasper isn’t so commonly available; however, it still exists.

As an ancient mineral, Jasper has been used across civilizations to make bow drills that have been traced back to the 4th to 5th millennium BC in the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan. Jasper was also used to make seals in 1800 BC Europe. Jasper in antiquity was precious and was often compared to emerald for its distinct green. Antique Jasper was also a little translucent and not the opaque quartz it is now generally known as. In the Bible, Jasper is the last stone in the High Priest’s breastplate.

People generally come upon a few different natural materials under the call jasper. In rare cases, there may be dyed Jasper of extraterrestrial colors or maybe plastic on occasion.

Real Jasper is an extraordinarily applicable material. Like quartz and fluorite, actual Jasper takes place in any color. However, in assessing one of the largest minerals, Jasper is represented in numerous styles. Structures made of actual Jasper are often reminiscent of natural landscapes. These multiple Jasper patterns make the fabric outstanding and exceptionally praised through mineral collectors. Real Jasper hides the wonderful internal global inner. 

Real Jasper is a completely tough gemstone (7 on the Mohs scale). It can’t be scratched through a chunk of glass or a knife. All the fakes are primarily softer than real Jasper. Another great feature of actual Jasper is its opacity. Light can’t undergo a compact structure of actual Jasper.

Jasper is a totally common material for beads, cameos, vases, seals, and snuff boxes. Rough Jasper is frequently cut or polished into cabochons. It is normally carved into cameos, which can be worn as pendants. Sometimes is enough to polish the Jasper most effectively to show its beauty. Impurities in Jasper can also create various banding styles in the stone.

You can use this guide to check for the Real Jasper. Share the article and spread your love.