I’m working on a malachite necklace at the moment and due to the amount of faux/ imitation malachite that is on the market I’ve found out and tested my malachite to check that it is the real deal (it wasn’t cheap so this was done in part so that I could go back to my supplier if there was an issue). Should I put the details of how I’ve tested it into the listing to reassure people that it is genuine malachite not the imitation stuff? Or is that too much information for a customer. Its not going to be a cheap necklace and I’m feeling that I’m going to have to justify the price as there are things made with what I’m pretty confident is faux material but there is no mention of whether it is genuine malachite or not.
In case anyone is interested I’ve done 2 tests the first is to heat up a sample - genuine malachite blackens but does not smoke or melt which the imitation does, the second test is to drop a sample into an acidic solution - real malachite fizzes and dissolves whilst the faux stuff does nothing (can you tell I’m an ex chemist?).
Thoughts please
Sasha
I’d say go for it! It can just be added to the bottom of the description. I think if anything people will find it interesting, but like you say, will help justify the price if they think they can get it ‘cheaper’ elsewhere but the cheaper alternative is faux.
Not only that, but it will show the work and effort that’s gone into the piece.
There’s certainly no harm- it may well help it stand out a bit more as well.
I dont think you need to add all the testing details - can’t you just say ‘genuine’ in the description?
I’d put it in as it gives the potential customer confidence you know what you are doing and it’ really is the 'Real Mcoy" .
Anyone can but genuine into a title or description it means nothing as you might feel it’s genuine but like you say there’s so much imitation on the market.
If someone is going to spend money on it they want to know it’s real so any thing you can do to instill the fact it’s real and not imitation is extremely important. It’s all about building confidence in the item for the buyer.
I’m not sure about this at all so I will be following this thread with interest. Some people think that using words like “genuine” and discussing testing actually puts the customer off, because the easiest way not to be conned is not to buy something in the first place. However, it would be a sad thing if this was really the case. This is why I don’t put “genuine freshwater pearl” in my titles, just “freshwater pearl” because people have told me to have confidence in what I am selling and if somebody else is selling a fake, then that’s their lookout. Even so…
I’m sorry if that paragraph was confusing, it’s just that I am confused, so it is coming through in my writing!
Sam x
I think I agree with Sally , adding genuine to the discription somewhere will give customers pause enough to know that there is are imitations out there, you could add country of origin ie genuine African malachite.
You want them to love the piece and want it,not give them information that might distract them from treating themselves.
Unless being a scientist/chemist is part of your usp, in which case the info will fit right in.
i was thinking that too actually - anybody can say anything in the end.
in the end you just have to have faith in the seller and their feedback.
I think customers like to be reassured that they are getting the real deal - anything you state that gives them that confidence in you has to be good.
I’d say add it in at the bottom of the description. As well as giving some reassurance, it’s quite interesting to have a bit of extra knowledge about the background of the product. I found your information incredibly interesting but I’m from a chemistry background as well so perhaps I’m biased! 
Do you have a blog? Just thinking the testing process would make a great blog post and might bring more traffic to your shop.
I make some Murano Glass jewellery and I do state that it is the real thing as some say Murano Glass when it is actually just glass foil. You can tell the difference in an instant though but I feel it justifies the price because it aint cheap.
I would just say that you have personally tested it to be genuine - I don’t think you need to put the test details on - maybe say they are available if wanted.
You are limited to how much you can write, so, if after you’ve used lots of fab words to describe your work and given all the dimensions etc, you’ve got some space you could put a note at the bottom - I wouldn’t prioritise it above the lovely descriptive (and SEO rich) words that really sell your jewellery though, the word genuine would suffice if you run out of characters :0)
Thank you ladies for your thoughts. I think I will mention at the bottom of the listing that I have checked that it isn’t imitation malachite without going into the full testing details and that they can contact me if they would like to know more. I don’t want to start adding words like genuine to the titles as I think I would then need to add that to all of my listings for fear of it implying that unless they were labled genuine they were actually imitation stones (if you can follow my reasoning there).
do you mention in other listings about checking materials aren’t imitation etc. ?
I think @HelenSmith has the right idea about a blog. I find any info about precious and semi precious stones fascinating, but I’m not sure everyone would.
A lot of the gemstones I use don’t get imitated so I don’t check them or state that they aren’t imitation, where I have used stabilised turquoise or cultured pearls I make sure I state that. So I’ve previously admitted where I’ve not used the 100% natural material rather than proving where I’m using the completely natural material. But I’m seeing more of the imitation material (malachite and turquoise specifically) where people haven’t stated that it is imitation and I guess its starting to irk me. Things like my murano beads I have stated the provenance of them because as Dawn said there are a lot of cheap murano style beads out there and the real ones come at a premium so I feel I should justify the price tag I end up charging. With the malachite (and unlike some of the other imitated stones) I can easily check its real at home so I have. I haven’t put the info into my previous malachite listings as I didn’t realise how prevalent the imitaion stuff was but if I decide to add the info for this new necklace I would go back and add it to those listings.
I did think about doing a blog but feel that I would be talking to myself and boring anyone who did stumble upon it to tears. I ended up reading a GIA report on the thermal decomposition of lab made malachite (which is different to imitation malachite) and there can’t be many others who find that sort of thing interesting.
As another chemist (albeit the bio variety) I would also find it fascinating! I’ve only just realised myself that there’s a lot of this imitation malachite about. I don’t think I would want to encourage everyone to do their own testing as it involves heat and acid, but it’s a good idea to say you’ve tested it yourself and they can always contact you for details.
Another question - don’t Murano beads have to come from the Murano factory in Italy? I always thought it was a trade name.