Thanks Dirk - -
It's fantastic to get tektite material that is documented and clearly from
the correct region.
Given the shiping costs, material, and provenance it is a great deal! Much
cheaper than getting it from the eBay sources I have found to date...
Sean
----- Original Message -----
From: "drtanuki" <[email protected]>
To: "Mark Ford" <[email protected]>;
<[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 7:14 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Bogus indochinites? Are they or aren't they?
Dear Mark and List,
You are correct that it is unlikely that tektites are faked, 99.99% BUT
NOT 100%. Rare types such as buttons etc., rare types or rare localities
perhaps would be the most likely target because of profit vs effort.
I have seen ONE intentionally faked tektite in the Philippines in the
Late Dr. Beyer`s collection from the 1930~40s (labeled as 'fake'- it was
two real tektites that had been affixed together with asphalt to form a
very unusual shape).
Moldavite faked- see ebay and check especially China, Hong Kong sellers.
"Faked" (mis-represented or mis-identified) Libyan glass...we saw it
before from China.
It is NOT uncommon to see slag substituted as Indochinite.
In my opinion "Indochinite" is not a good name as it allows for such a
large area and they may not all be from the same source impact crater or
same impact event. We have yet to find a source crater or craters!
I am also of the opinion that there were multiple impacts at the time of
their formation and the term "Indochinite" is a term left for orphaned
tektites that the find location is no longer known or the person obtaining
them bought them from persons unwilling to give the find location for
financial reasons OR the seller just did not know and assumed that the
location was what the local seller said.
For example, in Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and especially China there
are many tektites that are sold as being from China or Thailand when in
fact they were imported from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and even
the Philippines).
In Bangkok, and elsewhere, many of the sellers (merchants) have never
been to the field and rely on their contacts (suppliers) to obtain them.
True information (fact) in Asia, and in most of the real world, comes at a
cost and it does not pay the merchant to advertise for his competitors or
customers the location of his source.
I personally will not willingly give the exact location for the tektites
that I have collected to amateurs or "dealers" so that they can further
enhance their profits and further deplete scientifically valuable find
information.
I will give accurate information as to country and Provence (IF I am 100%
certain only) and that I have seen for myself and collected myself from
the location (without the help of "guides" that steer you to their "find
site" for a profit.
I do give accurate find location to scientists and other researchers that
have a reason to know the accurate GPS locations for the tektites that I
have found myself or persons that I know have found while with me in the
field.
I have seen faked find sites in Asia for tektites and am sure as long as
there is a profit some humans will seek to profit from misinformation.
Bogus tektites are usuallsubstituteded slag, black rocks or augite that
have been intentionally added or were found in the field by the locals.
In some cases some local sellers "specialize" in slag tektites and their
customers have no idea what a tektite should look like. In China, I was
shown slag by several dealers- it is not that they were perhaps
intenionally trying to cheat me- perhaps they had never seen a tektite and
they were sold the material as a tektite. Other cases the dealer knows
exactly that he is selling slag and it is up to the buyer to buy or not.
Buyer beware!
Enough of my ramblings; time for sleep after more than a day of being
awake. IF someone wishes to discuss this topic further contact me off
list. I am sure Norman can also comment on his experiences IF he is
computer-available in Africa.
Best regards, Dirk Ross...Tokyo
BTW: Thank you to all the the some 35 persons that contacted me about
buying tektites in the past 13+ hours; special thanks to the 25+ list
members that bought! There are still several kilos left if anyone is
interested.
--- On Fri, 2/13/09, Mark Ford <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Mark Ford <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Bogus indochinites? Are they or aren't
they?
To: [email protected]
Date: Friday, February 13, 2009, 8:09 PM
I don't think assuming 'no one would bother faking
something' is the
same as meaning they never will, or that something else is
consiquentaly
genuine because of the low likely hood.
This is like applying the same logic that some doctors use,
when they
say 'you don't have X wrong with you because its
'very unlikely'
The market for indochinites world wide is colossal there
are thousands
and thousands of gem shops world wide to sell to, believe
me they [do]
fake tektites, and I doubt most everyday people would even
know the
difference, if they can make a ton of tektites for a few
dollars then it
is worth it. Recycled glass is very cheap...
Anyway not wishing to cause panic here, I'm fairly
confident 99%+ of
tektites are perfectly ok, just be careful buying from
people you don't
know about is all.
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