SEDAGEMS

MOONSTONE-FELDSPAR

This is a natural untreated stone that i selected from a large parcel due to its intense brightness-it will look stunning in jewelery. There are some small inclusions but most you wont see when set.

Moonstone has been used in jewelry for centuries, including ancient civilizations. The Romans admired moonstone, as they believed it was born from solidified rays of the moon. Both the Romans and Greeks associated Moonstone with their lunar gods and goddesses. In more recent history, the moonstone became popular during the Art Nouveau. French goldsmithThere are two moonstones. Adularia moonstone is an almost transparent pale gray or silvery white or blue shimmer. It is mainly found in Sri Lanka, Burma, India and Madagascar. Albite moonstone is in the feldspar group. It is semitransparent with a pale, shimmering reflection. It may be a little dull. It comes mainly from Canada.

The most common moonstone is of the mineral adularia. The plagioclase feldspar oligoclase also produces moonstone specimens. Moonstone is feldspar with a pearly and opalescent luster. An alternate name is hecatoli

Moonstone is composed of two feldspar species, orthoclase and albite. The two species are intermingled. Then, as the newly formed mineral cools, the intergrowth of orthoclase and albite separates into stacked, alternating layers. When light falls between these thin, flat layers, it scatters in many directions producing the phenomenon called adularescence.