Book on Chrysanthemum Stones

I think Chris C. mentioned this in a earlier post but I couldn't locate it.

I ordered the book online and it is a great read about these stones, I have one purchased from E Bay that now after reading I think might be faked. (I didn't pay much and my quests that see it in my home would never know, but I will not use it in a show again. I used it as part of my display at our recent Zoo show.)

The book is Chrysanthemum Stones, The story of Stone Flowers by Thomas S. Elias and Hiromi Nakaoji.

Hi Billy

Send a photo of your (maybe) fake stone.

Kind regards Yvonne

Hello Billy,
Can you post the stone for us?if not it's quite ok.in this hobby of ours we really have to be on guard,lots of fake ones really,they are so good at that,it'll last a few years and the clued flower design will star to fall off.As the saying goes Charge It To Experience,same here,i've been had before
Kind regards,
Alex

Hi Billy... I really like the recently released Elias/Nakaoji book Chrysanthemum Stones: the Story of Stone Flowers. Tom & Hiromi have been very generous sharing knowledge of Chinese and Japanese stones and this book is amazing in its focus on their special passion for chrysanthemum stones.

As a warning to collectors, their illustrations & text on imitation Chinese chrysanthemum stones notes (paraphrased, pp. 38-40):

Re' imitations of Hubei & Hunan Province stones:
An imitation stone's pattern appears only on the surface plane without any crystalline structure. The "petals" tend radiate outward in graceful curves & are unattached to the central disk. In opposition, natural chrysanthemum stones usually have petals connected to the disk, and the petals extend in a straight line.

Re' imitations of quartz Huadu stones:
While appearing similar, a fake Huadu stone manufactured from stone dust & small particles is less dense than natural Huadu quartz and considerably lighter (perhaps, half the weight).

While not an imitation, I would add that many polished (and often sculpted) Hubei or Hunan Province stones are enhanced by painting their matrix black so that the near-white petals appear more distinct than on muddy-hued grey & green matrix stones. The black "paint" might be sumi ink as it washes off with ease. Take care to not wet these stones unless the more-natural matrix color is likely to appeal to you. If any of the stone is not polished (e.g., areas where there is not a pattern), you might prefer natural color on the entire stone rather than hide its partially natural surface. Where the stone is thoroughly worked, the black "paint" hides no surface which is entirely natural.