Real or Fake Aqeeq? How to Catch Dyed Stone and Glass

In Pakistan, aqeeq usually means agate, and most often the red and brown carnelian that our grandfathers wore in their rings. Aqeeq is not expensive, so clever forgeries are rare. What you actually meet is plain agate dyed a nicer colour, or glass sold at a natural-stone price. Five minutes with a torch usually tells you which you have.

Start with what natural aqeeq looks like

Agate belongs to the chalcedony family. It is quartz with crystals too small to see, formed layer on layer inside hollows in rock. That layering is the signature: curving bands, misty areas and small shifts in tone. Shine a strong light through a good carnelian and it lights up from within, a warm orange-red that is never quite even. When a stone shows one flat, perfect colour from edge to edge, slow down and look again.

Dyed aqeeq is what you will see most

Agate soaks up dye, and dyeing it is an old practice in the trade. There is nothing wrong with a dyed stone as long as the seller tells you and charges you a dyed-stone price. These are the signs we look for:

• a colour stronger or brighter than any natural agate you have handled;
• bands that are too regular, every line with the same crisp contrast;
• colour gathered in hairline cracks, or darker around the drill hole of a bead;
• colour coming off on a cotton bud touched with a little acetone in a hidden spot (let the seller do this test, do not try it on someone else's stone yourself).

Glass and plastic copies

These are easier to catch. Put the stone under a loupe or the macro lens on your phone. Glass often holds small round air bubbles and swirl lines, and natural agate never shows either. Glass looks glassy, where agate has a softer, waxy lustre. Plastic feels light and warm, and a fingernail can mark it.

Will it last in a ring?

Aqeeq sits at 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale, so it copes with everyday ring wear without fuss. A hard knock can still chip the edge, though. If you work with your hands, a bezel setting that wraps the rim is a sensible choice.

Why people wear aqeeq

Aqeeq has a long place in Islamic tradition. People wear it for protection and peace of mind, and many families hand aqeeq rings down from one generation to the next. These are traditional beliefs, not promised results. If an astrologer has recommended it, our rashi guide lists the usual pairings.

Three questions to put to any seller

1. Is this natural agate, and has it been dyed or heated?
2. Is the weight you quote for the stone alone, without metal?
3. Is the photo of this exact stone?

Our listings answer all three. Every piece in our aqeeq collection is checked and photographed on its own, known treatments are stated, and with Cash on Delivery you open the parcel and look at the stone before you pay. You might also like citrine or lapis lazuli. Urdu and English names are on our names page. We ship from Karachi, where delivery usually takes 1 to 2 working days, and to Lahore and every other city in Pakistan.