Moonstones come in many colors,
such as peach, pink, gray, yellow and green;
however, it is usually thought of as white in color, just like the moon itself.
Moonstone is a fascinating gemstone with unique attributes that
give it its allure and popularity,
as well as a long history!
Moonstone is one of the three birthstones of the month of June
and for those born under the zodiac sign of Gemini and Cancer.
Those born under the sign of Cancer
have the moon as their ruling planet, as well.
Moonstone is also the gift to celebrate the 13th wedding anniversary
and represents love and fertility.
The Romans named this unique stone Moonstone
for its resemblance to the moon, and thus,
the Moon Goddess, Diana.
Lore has it that the stone is made of captured moonbeams,
as in "light of the moon".
Light seems to move across the gem as you change your view of it -
as does our moon when seen through wispy high clouds.
Its moon-like flashes were thought to aid and protect
travelers at night, as if by the "light of the moon".
Why does moonstone have this fascinating light show quality?
Moonstone is a combination of two minerals of feldspar -
orthoclase and albite -
which become alternately stacked layers when the stone is formed.
When light hits these layered stones,
it fractures into many directions flashing blue and often rainbow colors.
This effect is termed "adularescence".
Why such an unusual name?
One of the early sites where moonstone was first found and mined
was in Switzerland near Mt. Adular.
Moonstone can be found not only in the U.S.
states of North Carolina, Virginia and New Mexico,
but also in Australia, Madagascar, India, Norway,
the Austrian Alps and many more locations.
The very best quality moonstone,
those stones that appear clear but with a strong blue flash,
come from Sri Lanka.
The more flashes, shimmer and deep blue
color show the moonstone has,
Many wonder if moonstone and labradorite
are just different colors of the same stone
because of their similarity in flashing.
Although they are really sister stones
with a slight mineral difference,
rainbow moonstone is often considered white labradorite.
When worn as an amulet (of love),
moonstone was believed to bring an old lover back to you.
Many old legends have it that if you wear moonstone
during a full moon and meet someone new,
passionate love can ensue.
While moonstone has a long history in ancient times,
moonstone was very popular in the Arts & Crafts period
during the nineteenth century.
Importantly, it was also very popular in the Art Nouveau period,
as both Louis Comfort Tiffany and Rene Lalique
often created amazing jewelry with this stone,
as well as many other jewelry artists.
Moonstone jewelry was also popular in designs
of the 1960's, as well as the 1990's,
and it is still very popular today.
This unique gemstone looks well with all colors of metals,
including sterling silver, oxidized blackened silver,
yellow gold and rose gold.
Did you know this fun fact about moonstone?
Moonstone became the official gemstone
of the State of Florida in 1970 when we landed on the moon
with space flight Apollo 11!
As of yet, moonstones have still not been discovered
in either Florida or on the moon.
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