THE BEAUTIFUL MOONS
Moonstone is a member of the feldspar family and is always 100% natural. The Romans believed Moonstone to be actual crystallized moon light and the Greeks believed Moonstone had magical powers. They used the stone to treat illnesses and emotional powers. IN PRESENT India, Moonstone is a holy gem and is said to give its wearer beautiful dreams. Arab women sew Moonstone gemstones in the seams of their clothes. They believe the Moonstone will make them fertile.
The Moonstone gem is a 6 to 6.5 on the MOHS scale for hardness, pretty durable for jewelry. This gem also has unique characteristics showing a billowy, shimmery band of light as the stone is moved and tilted. This is called “adularescence.” The more shimmer in the gem the more valuable the Moonstone will be. The anomalies in the gem are what the light refracts and scatters. This causes the light to create the adularescence. Size and thickness of the gemstone also determines the color and the brightness of the moving light effect. Moonstone is almost always cut into a cabochon to obtain and maximize the adularescence. A faceted Moonstone is a rare and amazing gemstone. Rainbow Moonstone has a beautiful play of colors of the rainbow. This is created by the gem’s microscope thin twinning crystal structure.
Rainbow and Blue Moonstones are the most sought after colors. The more intense the color, the more valuable the gemstone. Rainbow Moonstone from India is no longer mined. This makes this gem very rare and valuable. Rainbow Moonstone displays colors of red, blue, green, orange, yellow and sometimes purple and pink with a clear sometimes milky body color.
The Moonstone gem is a 6 to 6.5 on the MOHS scale for hardness, pretty durable for jewelry. This gem also has unique characteristics showing a billowy, shimmery band of light as the stone is moved and tilted. This is called “adularescence.” The more shimmer in the gem the more valuable the Moonstone will be. The anomalies in the gem are what the light refracts and scatters. This causes the light to create the adularescence. Size and thickness of the gemstone also determines the color and the brightness of the moving light effect. Moonstone is almost always cut into a cabochon to obtain and maximize the adularescence. A faceted Moonstone is a rare and amazing gemstone. Rainbow Moonstone has a beautiful play of colors of the rainbow. This is created by the gem’s microscope thin twinning crystal structure.
Rainbow and Blue Moonstones are the most sought after colors. The more intense the color, the more valuable the gemstone. Rainbow Moonstone from India is no longer mined. This makes this gem very rare and valuable. Rainbow Moonstone displays colors of red, blue, green, orange, yellow and sometimes purple and pink with a clear sometimes milky body color.
Africa, India, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, Madagascar and Tanzania mine Moonstone.
The Bella Luna Moonstone is mined in Tanzania, Africa. This Moonstone has a beautiful, soft blue color with a translucent body and sometimes a frosty opaque body.
The Moonstone has always been regarded as a lucky stone. A Moonstone placed under your pillow was thought to make you have dreams of the future. If you actually dreamed of the Moonstone it could warn you of danger ahead. Moonstone was said to give you a positive outlook on life. It is also said that Moonstone can cure epilepsy, ward off cancer, fever, help with nervousness and protect a traveler. It was told that if you boiled a Moonstone with the juice of a lemon it could relieve high blood pressure and anxiety.
Care should be taken when wearing your Moonstone. Use common sense like taking it off before swimming, hot tubbing, gardening and other manual jobs. To clean your moonstone, just wipe with a soft wet cloth with a drop of mild soap and rinse.
Written by,
Linda McMurray, G.G. (GIA)