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A Word About Specimen I.D.
You probably know that it's impossible to guarantee the chemical composition of a mineral specimen without X-ray diffraction or fully-quantitative EDS analyses. These methods, of course, are time consuming and costly. It is our goal to provide affordable minerals; the cost of analyses to confirm questionable ID's would add considerably to the price of a specimen.
However, you can buy with confidence from this site, because
(1.) any time there is a doubt as to identity, this will be indicated clearly in the description of the specimen (e.g., with a question mark, etc.), and
(2.) all rare species offered as such are "what the label says, or your money back" (according to our return policy; please see order info for details).
The degree of certainty of a mineral's I.D. must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis (depending on origin of the specimen, among other factors) - and this will be indicated when appropriate for a mineral specimen.
Whenever there is considerable doubt, a mineral will be sold as UNIDENTIFIED or something to that effect. This practice may not appeal to some, but consider the prices involved. A $4.00 specimen would no longer be $4.00 if it had to be put through XRD / EDS analysis. Even rudimentary chemical analysis is time-consuming, and we don't normally have time to do this for unknowns.
CR Scientific Catalog
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