Fire Agate / Crab Fire Agate / Spiderweb Carnelian

One of the things that frustrates me to no end is when people misrepresent stones. Many people that buy from commercial sources and assemble these stones into their jewelry are guilty of this, but perhaps they don't know any better.

See, many commercial sources are doing it as well.

Take a look at what Lima Beads is selling as Fire Agate:
http://www.limabeads.com/Fire-Agate-Gemstone-Beads-C569

They have some of the facts right. Fire Agate is mined in the SW United States and in Mexico, but this isn't Fire Agate.

Fire agate does not have these bands, but "spiderweb" carnelian, a treated carnelian, does.

Real fire agate is more like an opal, look at these pictures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Agate
http://www.cabbers.com/cabs/agates/fire_agate.shtml
http://fireagate.mexicogemstones.com/

Gorgeous stuff.

Someone a while back came up with the trade name "crab fire agate". Trade names are a sneaky way to mislead people. New "Jade", Cherry "Quartz", Sea "Opal"... What's wrong with saying serpentine or glass? Glass is gorgeous too, and serpentine is a very pretty stone.

Cherry and Blueberry "Quartz" are glass. But search Etsy suppliers -
Cherry Quartz tagged as precious stones

Look at all the sellers selling jewelry marked "Fire Agate" without the word crab - thus misrepresenting what they have (real Fire Agate is $$$$$$) - note that looking through the pictures you will see a few REAL Fire Agate pieces.

Etsy listings for Fire Agate -not- Crab Fire Agate

Artbeads.com started to sell Crab Fire Agate on their site as "Fire Agate." I immediately contacted them and started a conversation that was at first shot down by them ("our supplier calls it that") and ended up with them checking with a gemologist and (YAY Artbeads!!) fixed their listings to use the trade name. They missed a couple of references, but the title is correct and they tried to do the right thing. I believe they could have gone farther to educate those buying from them and explained what it REALLY is, but you take the victories you can get, right?

Remember that you are responsible for proper disclosure. yes, you can blame someone upstream from you - but your credibility is key. If you are concerned about misrepresentation, start with your supplier. Demand that they tell you the whole truth. All stones should be marked dyed, natural, manmade, reconstituted, stabilized, etc.

Complain LOUDLY to them and remind them that they are regulated by the FTC as well:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/guides/jewel-gd.shtm

Only if we raise our voices to them will they stop these deceptive practices.