Concept image of aqua colored glass on a pale stone slab

Concept image created for this article. It does not depict a tested specimen or a seller’s listing.

Sep 26, 2026

Andara “Crystals”: What Is Really Being Sold?

By Dr. Kasia Bitner, Co-owner Soul Body Gems

A brilliant blue shard is passed from hand to hand. Its seller calls it an “Andara crystal,” describes an ancient or volcanic origin, and asks a price that suggests a rare gemstone. Before you buy the story, ask a simpler question: what is the material?

Glass can be beautiful. It can also be manufactured in spectacular colors. The concern is not that a person treasures a piece of glass; it is that ordinary glass may be marketed as a rare natural crystal with extraordinary properties and priced accordingly.

What does “Andara” actually identify?

“Andara” is a commercial or metaphysical name, not an established mineral species. A label by itself tells us neither the composition nor the origin of an individual specimen. Sellers use variations such as “Andara Crystal,” “Monatomic Andara,” and color or gemstone names attached to Andara. A dramatic name is a claim to investigate, not a laboratory identification.

Some accounts describe Andara as natural glass from a special deposit near Mount Shasta. Others call it volcanic glass or attribute unusual elements and energies to it. These stories are often repeated without a locality record, a chain of custody, or an independent identification report for the piece being sold.

The laboratory evidence

The EPI gem laboratory published an elemental analysis of a sample sold as “Andara Crystal.” Using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence, it reported approximately 68.8% silica, 22.24% sodium oxide, and 5.08% calcium oxide, with much lower aluminum and potassium oxides. EPI identified the analyzed material as manufactured soda-lime glass—the general class used for familiar commercial glass products. Its report presents comparison compositions for natural obsidian and moldavite.

What that result establishes: the tested Andara sample was consistent with manufactured soda-lime glass. What it does not establish: the identity of every untested item offered under the same marketing name. That distinction matters. We can challenge unsupported universal claims without pretending that one test examined every piece in circulation.

The word slag is often used loosely in discussions of Andara. Cullet refers to broken or scrap glass used in glassmaking; slag can refer to industrial byproduct from other processes. A piece can be manufactured glass without our knowing the precise factory, production process, or disposal site. The clearest statement, unless its source is documented, is manufactured glass.

Natural dark obsidian specimen showing its curved fracture surface — Natural obsidian, a volcanic glass. Photo: James St. John / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0; unmodified.

But isn’t obsidian natural glass?

Yes. The U.S. Geological Survey describes obsidian as natural volcanic glass formed when molten rock cools rapidly enough to inhibit crystallization. Both obsidian and manufactured glass lack the orderly crystal structure of a mineral crystal. Their origins and compositions can differ, even when both fracture with curved, sharp surfaces.

Curved “conchoidal” breaks therefore do not prove volcanic origin. Nor do clarity, vivid color, or bubbles prove a specific factory origin on their own. Inclusions and bubbles can guide an examination, but they are not a universal at-home verdict. The Gemological Institute of America documented glass shaped to imitate tourmaline and used multiple observations and tests—refractive index, microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and elemental analysis—to reach its identification.

A location story also needs evidence. EPI notes that man-made waste glass may be found in apparently natural settings, including beaches and fields. “It was found outdoors” is not the same as “it formed there.”

Blue “obsidian”: the glass behind the name

The vivid, transparent, electric-blue or aquamarine chunks commonly marketed as “blue obsidian” are manufactured blue glass—not natural volcanic obsidian. The EPI gem laboratory specifically identifies an aquamarine-blue artificial glass sold under names including “blue obsidian,” “Aqua Lemuria,” and “Andara Crystal.” It also documents blue glassy industrial material marketed as obsidian. See EPI’s comparison of natural obsidian and artificial glass.

There is a narrow naming nuance: some natural obsidian can look faintly bluish-gray when light passes through it. That subdued appearance is different from the strikingly clear, saturated blue material being offered as a rare “crystal.” A photograph alone cannot authenticate a specific piece, but a seller who calls transparent blue glass “natural blue obsidian” should be asked for independent identification and provenance.

Claims that deserve evidence

“It contains 70 minerals” or a mysterious substance. Ask for a composition report that names and quantifies what was measured. An unsupported proprietary name is not a mineral identification.
“It is monatomic glass.” This is not a meaningful substitute for a composition and structural description of a bulk glass specimen. Ask the seller to define the term and provide a testable report.
“It is volcanic” or “ancient.” Ask for a specific source locality, how the specimen was collected, and independent evidence for the origin. A photograph of glass on the ground is insufficient.
“It is certified.” Read the document. Does an independent laboratory identify the actual material, or is it a certificate of authenticity issued by the seller or an affiliated party?
“This color is exceptionally rare.” Ask whether the rarity refers to documented natural material or simply a seller’s name for a shade of manufactured glass.

The independent discussions by Kouva Dream Catchers & Crystals and Albion Fire and Ice show how these terms and origin stories appear in the crystal market. Their examples are useful warnings; the laboratory report is the stronger evidence for the composition of the sample it tested.

How to buy with your eyes open

Ask what the piece is in ordinary material terms: glass, obsidian, or an identified mineral.
Request the specific locality and the evidence connecting that individual piece to it.
For expensive or extraordinary claims, request an independent report that identifies the tested specimen and methods.
Compare the price with decorative glass of similar size and quality. Decide what you would pay if the extraordinary story were removed.
If a seller refuses straightforward questions, do not let urgency or spiritual promises replace evidence.

You are free to love a luminous piece of glass. Its color, shape, and the meaning you personally give it may be enough. But you should not have to pay a rare-gem premium for an origin or chemistry that nobody has demonstrated.

Our position at Soul Body Gems is simple: wonder becomes more powerful when the material is honestly named.

Sources and further reading

The marketplace listings below illustrate labels and claims, not independent identification of the pictured pieces. Their photographs are not reproduced here.