Moonstone is a rare mineral belonging to the group of feldspars, one of the kinds of low-temperature orthoclase. It got this name due to opalescence - the ability to emit a color glow arising from the thin-lamellar structure of gems.
However, the term "moonstone" is used by jewelers to denote several absolutely different minerals from the group of field spatulas. Despite the features of the internal structure (presence or absence of air bubbles, micro-cracks, impurities), all of them have the ability to emit an iridescent or pearlescent glow when light enters the crystal.
On the Gem Lovers website, you can find adular. This is an illuminating or translucent gem, which does not have micro-cracks in its structure, unlike other minerals of its own group.
Description of adular:
Colors:
Moonstone adular is a transparent or semi-transparent gem of white and silver shades.
Price:
The most valued exemplars with a strong blue glow while without turbidity, impurities, and cracks. A rare property of rainbow moonstone, besides blue, exhibits other shades in the spectrum. The cost of such samples is relatively high.
Places of mining:
Most often found in alpine-type quartz veins, moonstone is also found and obtained in ore veins and pegmatites. This gem is mined in the United States, Burma, India, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Australia, Tanzania, Madagascar, Armenia (Lake Sevan).
Its characteristic feature is the presence of deep opalescence. It does not give colorful flashes or rainbows, but when they are presented in the form of cabochons, it may start to show the effect of a "cat's eye" (or one-ray asterism).
Adular crystals have an irreparable three-dimensional depth. This is the rarest and, therefore, costly type of moonstone. Moonstone cabochons go well with white gold and diamonds in jewelry. If you need a natural specimen of a certain size, shape, mass, then we can gladly search for it at your request. In Gem Lovers, you can also order the manufacture of jewelry with selected gems - contact us.
How to distinguish a real moonstone from a fake?
Moonstone is very famous. You can find it in many jewelry such as beads, pendants, keychains, silver rings, and earrings, but basically, under the commercial name, moonstone is sold imitation of the so-called opal glass. It is really clean, translucent, has a bluish tint, and is cheap. But, unfortunately, it has nothing to do with natural jewelry adularia. Distinguishing the fake from the original is not difficult:
The simplest way is to look at the sample in the light and under the incident light. In natural stone, the light at an angle of 15 ° will be reflected in a blue tint. The glass will be yellow or orange in transmitted light and milky-bluish under incident light. Layered structure. Several layers can be seen through the moonstone, although the boundaries between them are blurred. Synthetic does not give such an effect, its layers are erased and blurred.
Also, glass - an imitation of a moonstone - often contains impurities in the form of bubbles visible to the eye, as well as streaks. A real moonstone looks completely different, it will not change in the light, but the iridescence effect appears only in the incident light and is most pronounced with a point light source.
It is also worth paying attention to the suspiciously low price. Natural stone is not cheap, especially if it is framed with precious metal. (5 ct - $40-60/ct, 10 ct - $60-80/ct, 15 ct - from $100/ct).
The best way not to buy a fake moonstone is to contact only trusted sellers. Gem Lovers has been operating since 2012 and has been satisfying all the needs of its customers to this day. Our specialists and expert gemologists are ready to share with you detailed reports and photos for each sample. Contact us in any convenient way, and you will receive detailed advice.
