17 replies to this topic

[leonardovaller]

Hello everyone. About a month ago or so I bought these pieces supossed to be "indochinites". 

They are glassy, ​​very opaque. They don't seem to be artificially carved. I have never seen other tektites so I don't have a reference.

 

I got the drop-shaped one from one guy and the other three from another.

 

Thanks.

 

[JimP]

They look original to me.

 

 Jim 

[j.gardavsky]

The surface sculpture is what is often seen on the tectites.

 

I have somewhere in the drawers a small collection of the Moldavites, which are believed to have been ejected from the Nördlinger Ries meteorite crater in Bavaria.

 

Thank you for sharing,

JG

[leonardovaller]

The surface sculpture is what is often seen on the tectites.

 

I have somewhere in the drawers a small collection of the Moldavites, which are believed to have been ejected from the Nördlinger Ries meteorite crater in Bavaria.

 

Thank you for sharing,

JG

I know them. Moldavites and Libyan glass will be my next purchases.

[j.gardavsky]

Hello Leonardo,

 

give me some time to take a few pics, they may help you when when looking for some specials among the moldavites.

 

Best,

JG

[leonardovaller]

Hello Leonardo,

 

give me some time to take a few pics, they may help you when when looking for some specials among the moldavites.

 

Best,

JG

I'd be really grateful. I have heard that there are a lot of fake moldavites on the market.

Greetings.

[j.gardavsky]

Hello Leonardo,

 

I took some pics of the moldavites in my collection the fast way,

 

 

 

Nicknamed as Cigar (65mm long) it shows a linear sculptation.

 

... continued

 

 

[j.gardavsky]

Moldavites continued ...

 

 

The triangular outer form, the sculptation has larger and curved forms.

 

 

continued ...

[j.gardavsky]

Moldavites continued,

 

ant this is a third type, showing some irregular forms and sculptations,

 

 

 

These samples are from the location Chlum in Czech Republic, purchased during the mineral exhibitions in Munich (Germany), and also in Czech Rep.

 

Collectible and expensive are the moldavites with the weight of more than 20g, and size more than 30mm. No damage, and no refurbish with etching, etc.

 

The famous locality with the best samples is Chlum.

 

Hoping this helps,

JG

[leonardovaller]

Moldavites continued,

 

ant this is a third type, showing some irregular forms and sculptations,

 

Moldavite other sculptations.jpg

 

 

These samples are from the location Chlum in Czech Republic, purchased during the mineral exhibitions in Munich (Germany), and also in Czech Rep.

 

Collectible and expensive are the moldavites with the weight of more than 20g, and size more than 30mm. No damage, and no refurbish with etching, etc.

 

The famous locality with the best samples is Chlum.

 

Hoping this helps,

JG

Nice ones.

Too bad that here in Mexico it is difficult to get top quality pieces for a fair price. Ebay is a good option but I am afraid that they may be retained in customs.

[lee14]

Nice ones.

Too bad that here in Mexico it is difficult to get top quality pieces for a fair price. Ebay is a good option but I am afraid that they may be retained in customs.

You've expressed concerns about the possibility of fakes, and as a long time eBay seller I must tell you to be very careful about Moldavite purchases there. As well as meteorites in general. The site has become rife with fraudulent material of all sorts and eBay has done nothing to address the problem. The source of many fake Moldavites seems to be one particular country (guess which one), where the practice of using green bottle glass, melted and molded, has become popular. When buying on eBay (which still retains a large number of reputable sellers), purchase only from those with an excellent record over a long period of time. Unfortunately, good feedback is no guarantee, because inexperienced buyers are often unaware they've received fraudulent specimens, and have left positive feedback. Research the seller you are considering.

 

I've sent meteorites (not Moldavites, just irons) to Mexico and never had a problem with customs.

 

Lee

[j.gardavsky]

The safe way is to buy the certified genuine Moldavites, which have not been refurbished, like etching the broken away surfaces.

Then the prices start at a few $$$,

 

https://www.etsy.com...related-4&frs=1

 

and they may reach $.$$$

 

https://www.etsy.com...ing_bot-1&frs=1

 

And here is the certified Moldavite with an air inclusion in my collection,

 

 

 

 

I have purchased about 25 years ago in one minerals trade fair.

 

Best,

JG

[lee14]

The fakes tend to be perfectly transparent, as would be expected if bottle glass was used. There have even been examples of identical forms, a clear indication that a mold was employed.

 

Some of the images above have good transparency, denoting a desirable, high quality specimen. Others are cloudier, indicative of an authentic specimen. All of these were seemingly purchased well before the current trend to produce fake material. If you're going to purchase a Moldavite, it should look like one of these.

 

Lee

[lee14]

These are all examples of eBay listings. Some are obvious fakes, others appear more genuine, but are a red flag because the identical images are used in multiple auctions. The pic of one shown above a background of variously colored pieces of broken glass is difficult to take seriously. These all are listed from China, and since the number of fakes is so high, I'd recommend against purchasing anything from any of these sellers.

 

There are quite a few listings from the Czech Republic, and the ones I looked at all have the appearance of the genuine article. 

 

Lee

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by lee14, 13 June 2022 - 11:37 AM.

[leonardovaller]

You've expressed concerns about the possibility of fakes, and as a long time eBay seller I must tell you to be very careful about Moldavite purchases there. As well as meteorites in general. The site has become rife with fraudulent material of all sorts and eBay has done nothing to address the problem. The source of many fake Moldavites seems to be one particular country (guess which one), where the practice of using green bottle glass, melted and molded, has become popular. When buying on eBay (which still retains a large number of reputable sellers), purchase only from those with an excellent record over a long period of time. Unfortunately, good feedback is no guarantee, because inexperienced buyers are often unaware they've received fraudulent specimens, and have left positive feedback. Research the seller you are considering.

 

I've sent meteorites (not Moldavites, just irons) to Mexico and never had a problem with customs.

 

Lee

Despite my poor knowledge I am very careful about these things. The round bottle-green moldavites already looked fake to me when I first saw them.

This is an example of a moldavite that seems legitimate to me but it's price (over $400) seems high to me.

 

 

When you get the chance, send me your ebay link to take a look.

[leonardovaller]

The safe way is to buy the certified genuine Moldavites, which have not been refurbished, like etching the broken away surfaces.

Then the prices start at a few $$$,

 

https://www.etsy.com...related-4&frs=1

 

and they may reach $.$$$

 

https://www.etsy.com...ing_bot-1&frs=1

 

And here is the certified Moldavite with an air inclusion in my collection,

 

 

Moldavite weight.jpg

 

Moldavie certified.jpg

 

I have purchased about 25 years ago in one minerals trade fair.

 

Best,

JG

Thank you so much. I knew moldavites could reach high prices but I didn't think they were as high as the second piece. I could buy a good pallasite for that amount.

[lee14]

Despite my poor knowledge I am very careful about these things. The round bottle-green moldavites already looked fake to me when I first saw them.

This is an example of a moldavite that seems legitimate to me but it's price (over $400) seems high to me.

 

This piece looks very dark, but the shape and texture look fine. Prices are really hard to judge. They seem to range from $2-3 per gram to twenty or thirty times that. $400 seems high to me as well, but it's hard to judge without knowing the weight. I looked at a few Moldavites on Etsy, there are some nice pieces there and reasonably priced.

 

Lee

[MeteoritesEire]

That piece for $400 is a complete and total rip off. Moldavite prices have skyrocketed on the back of the metaphysical market but there are still some reasonable dealers around. Search for norm lehrman at the tektite source. I got some besednice hedgehogs from him back in the day for less than 400. He has plenty of stock still. Good luck