Interesting Facts About Moonstone

Moonstones are beautiful gems that have a history of spirituality and magic. They form from a largest group of mineral called feldspar and possess a natural iridescent quality. Moonstones come in two varieties: plagioclase feldspar (which contains calcium or sodium)and orthoclase feldspar (which contains potassium). What gives moonstone its eerie, moon-like glow is the crystal formation within the stone. Light catches the very tiny prisms of the crystalline structures, then reflects the colors of the minerals within. The light produced is not the flashing, bright brilliance of faceted jewelry, but it is a softer, glowing brilliance, called adularescence.

There are three main factors that will usually play an important role in the price of this gem, the color of the body, its sheen or adularescence color and orientation of the sheen. The color of the body should be colorless, the adularescence blue and the sheen should centered to the top of the gem. Moonstone is usually carved into a cabochon which allows the crystalline structures within the stone to catch the light and give its pleasing and romantic glow. Blue moonstones are beautifully used in moonstone jewelry like moonstone necklaces, moonstone bracelets, moonstone earrings and moonstone rings. Moonstone which exhibits iridescent flashes of blue, gold, green, white and red is called as rainbow moonstone.

Irradiation and Heat are the most common treatments carried out on moonstone.
Like many other gemstones, moonstones are also created in laboratories that reproduce many of the unique qualities of the gem. However, lab-created gems usually lack the inclusions (imperfections) and the trace minerals that are found in natural stones. Lab-created moonstones are generally less expensive. Traditionally, Sri Lanka was known to produce the moonstones with the highest quality which were almost transparent, with a bluish shimmer. Besides Sir Lanka, it  is also mined today in United States, Switzerland, India, Brazil, Australia, Madagascar, Russia and Burma (now Myanmar).

Moonstone is the official state gem of Florida, USA. For thousand of years, moonstones have been used in jewelry and in healing and enjoyed great popularity during Art Nouveau in modern history. The moonstone was used for protection by travelers in ancient times, and it was also used as an amulet or talisman. The stone was believed to attract love, success, wisdom and prosperity by the Romans. It is valued as a prophetic stone that can promote clarity of mind.