FWIW, I bought strands of turquoise beads from Rings 'n' Things when they did shows in Massachusetts, and a couple of times, they turned out to be dyed howlite or magnesite.

Russ Nobbs was the kind of person who was very careful about his beads and other products. He even visited places to check out the sources of some of his suppliers.

If HE got fooled, then there's no hope for any of us! :-D

Of course, as the fake stuff gets more prevalent, it gets a little easier to spot. I do my best to make sure my purchases are as authentic as I hope, but I cringe at the thought of what testing might reveal!
=8-}

I recently made some rocks out of polymer clay for a huge project I've been working on for a year now. When I posted them, I was surprised how many people thought they were real! And I wasn't even trying to make them look real, I just need rocks of a certain color. :-)