Fakebusters: Ruby in Zoisite 1

Hello dear fakebusters! Today we will be taking a look at some of the many ways that ruby in zoisite can be faked! 

Let's face it, they aren't even trying that hard with this one! Randomised splotches of fluorescent pink and black on an oddly yellowish "zoisite" just scream fake. Obviously, ruby will never be that kind of pink. The black spots are also the wrong shape, as I will show you soon...

This fake is at least a little closer with the zoisite component (there is still some strange yellow going on!) however the ruby is still an amorphous bright pink mass, which appears to have the same texture as the zoisite.  Ruby would normally be far denser than the zoisite, which is why it usually sticks out on the tumbles.

This last fake looks like it certainly had some ruby in zoisite going for it, however it has certainly been "enhanced". You can see areas with swathes of the natural ruby colour, growing as it normally would, then there is this odd brownish red part around it.  I suspect that they have tried to dye around the ruby to make it look like there is a lot more there, thus making it more valuable.

Lastly we have a real example! The one above has some beautifully clear ruby crystals growing, showing off their 6 sided shape and some nice zoisite beneath it.