About ICHA Crystal Guide | Practical Crystal Buying
About the guide
A practical guide for comparing crystals before buying
ICHA Crystal Guide is an independent editorial guide for beginners, casual collectors, and shoppers assessing common crystals and gemstone materials. It exists because polished photographs, overlapping retail names, and incomplete treatment disclosures can make a simple comparison look more conclusive than it is.
Who it serves
The guide is written for readers who want to inspect a listing more carefully, compare materials that share similar colors or finishes, and decide what to ask a seller before purchasing. It focuses on choices a buyer can make with the information actually available.
- Observe color, clarity, inclusions, texture, luster, dimensions, and apparent weight.
- Check whether treatments, composition, measurements, and return terms are disclosed clearly.
- Compare seller wording with what photographs and descriptions actually show.
- Recognize when another view, a measurement, or gemological testing is warranted.
How pages are prepared
Luo Wei Su, Site Editor, reviews product descriptions, seller-supplied photographs, disclosure wording, and return terms as distinct evidence sources. Side-by-side examples are organized around observable features, while retail labels and possible interpretations remain clearly attributed.
Published pages are revisited when a comparison can be made clearer, common retail terminology changes, or wording reaches beyond the evidence. Material corrections are incorporated into the relevant page so readers encounter the revised explanation in context.
Where comparison stops
A photograph may show color zoning, bubbles, fractures, coating wear, concentrated dye, or an unusually uniform surface. Those observations may raise useful questions, but they cannot establish identity, natural origin, authenticity, treatment status, provenance, grade, or value.
The site is not a gemological laboratory and does not provide appraisals, medical guidance, financial advice, or guarantees about seller claims. When a purchase depends on a definitive conclusion, appropriate gemological testing is needed to confirm it.