Crystal Identifier — What Crystal Is This?
Not sure what crystal you're holding? Upload a photo and our crystal identifier names the most likely stone in seconds, tells you how confident it is, and shows you exactly how to confirm it. No confidently-wrong guesses.
How to get an accurate crystal ID
- • Shoot in natural daylight — colored indoor light shifts a crystal's true color.
- • Fill the frame and focus on one specimen against a plain, neutral background.
- • Capture the crystal's shape and terminations; for transparent stones, a side angle shows clarity and inclusions.
- • Photograph it dry — water adds shine that hides the true luster.
Crystals our identifier recognizes
From everyday tumbled stones to raw specimens — including amethyst, rose quartz, citrine, clear quartz, smoky quartz, selenite, carnelian, agate, fluorite, malachite, labradorite, tiger's eye, sodalite, amazonite and moldavite. Our in-depth field guide for each of these is expanding, with formation, properties, look-alikes and value on every page.
How to confirm a crystal yourself
A photo gets you most of the way; these quick tests settle the rest:
- Hardness: quartz-family crystals (7 on the Mohs scale) scratch glass; calcite (3) and selenite (2) do not.
- Double refraction: clear calcite doubles a line viewed through it — clear quartz does not. A fast way to separate two common look-alikes.
- Streak: rub it on unglazed porcelain; the powder color is often more diagnostic than the surface color.
- Heft & feel: real crystal feels cooler and heavier than glass or plastic imitations.
Frequently asked questions
Can you really identify a crystal from a photo?
Often, yes. Color, transparency, crystal habit (the shape the crystal grows in) and luster are frequently enough to identify common crystals like amethyst, citrine, selenite or pyrite. Look-alikes exist, though — which is why we give you a confidence score and simple tests to confirm.
How do I tell a real crystal from a fake?
Glass and dyed imitations are common. Real quartz crystals are cool to the touch, harder than glass (they scratch it, not the other way around), and often contain natural inclusions or imperfect terminations. Perfectly uniform color and air bubbles usually mean glass or resin.
What's the difference between a crystal and a mineral?
A mineral is a naturally occurring chemical compound; a crystal is a mineral that has grown into an ordered geometric form. Amethyst, for example, is the crystal form of the mineral quartz. Our identifier handles both.
Is the crystal identifier free?
Yes — your first 3 identifications are free. Pro unlocks unlimited IDs plus value, authenticity and care reports.
Looking for a rough rock rather than a crystal? Try the rock identifier