Strawberry Obsidian Identification Guide
How to identify strawberry obsidian and recognize that most 'strawberry obsidian' on the market is actually man-made glass, with the tests that prove it.
Read the full Strawberry Obsidian encyclopedia entry →
What Strawberry Obsidian Looks Like
"Strawberry obsidian" is a trade name for a translucent reddish-pink to deep berry-red glassy material shot through with tiny sparkling copper-colored or golden flecks and swirls. Important: most material sold under this name is NOT natural obsidian. It is a man-made glass (closely related to goldstone) containing suspended metallic copper particles that create the glitter. Natural obsidian is overwhelmingly black, gray, brown, or green; uniform bright strawberry-red glass with even sparkle is a strong sign of manufactured glass.
Step-by-Step Field ID
- Inspect the color and sparkle. A uniform berry-red, highly translucent body packed with even, glittery copper flecks points to manufactured goldstone-type glass.
- Hunt for bubbles. Round gas bubbles trapped inside indicate man-made glass.
- Check the flecks. Evenly distributed, identical sparkly platelets are characteristic of synthetic copper-glass, not natural spherulites.
- Test hardness. Glass and obsidian are both ~Mohs 5-5.5, so hardness alone will not separate them.
- Look at swirl/flow. Manufactured glass shows fluid swirl banding and a perfectly clean color.
Key Diagnostic Tests
- Mohs hardness: ~5-5.5 for both glass and true obsidian (not diagnostic by itself).
- Streak: white.
- Fracture: conchoidal in both.
- Bubbles: spherical air bubbles strongly indicate manufactured glass.
- Inclusions: uniform sparkly copper platelets = goldstone-type glass; natural obsidian shows irregular spherulites, flow bands, or no sparkle.
- Specific gravity: ~2.4-2.6.
Common Look-Alikes (and what it actually is)
- Goldstone (red/standard): strawberry obsidian is essentially a red goldstone variant; both are copper-bearing glass.
- Genuine natural obsidian: real obsidian is not strawberry-red with copper glitter; if a vendor claims natural, be skeptical.
- Cherry quartz (also man-made): similar dyed/man-made glass, but cherry quartz usually shows wispy fibrous inclusions rather than copper sparkle.
- Natural reddish obsidian (mahogany/red): dull earthy red-brown from iron, opaque to translucent, with NO copper glitter, distinguishing genuine obsidian from the sparkly glass.
Where It Is Found
Because most strawberry obsidian is manufactured, it is "sourced" from glass workshops (the goldstone-making tradition associated with Italy and now widely produced in China). Genuine natural obsidian, by contrast, comes from young rhyolitic volcanic flows worldwide.
Frequently asked questions
Is strawberry obsidian real obsidian?
Usually not. Most strawberry obsidian is man-made copper-bearing glass (a goldstone variant); natural obsidian is rarely strawberry-red and never has evenly distributed copper glitter.
How can you tell if strawberry obsidian is fake?
Look for round gas bubbles, a uniform berry-red color, and even sparkly copper flecks plus fluid swirl banding, all of which indicate manufactured glass rather than natural volcanic glass.
What is strawberry obsidian made of?
The common market material is silica glass with suspended metallic copper particles that produce the red color and glitter, essentially a red goldstone.
Strawberry obsidian vs cherry quartz: what is the difference?
Both are typically man-made glass, but strawberry obsidian shows sparkly copper flecks while cherry quartz shows wispy red fibrous-looking inclusions.