Moonstone
Name
The moonstone gets its name due to its similarity to the brightly lit lunar surface - its special glow is reminiscent of that of the moonlight.
Colour
The color scale from moonstone ranges from colorless, white, greyish, brownish or bluish with bluish or whitish shimmer. Every now and then there are also dark variants of the moonstone. Most valuable are moonstones with a white-blue glow and no inclusions as the shimmering is most effective when the gemstone is translucent and transparent.
Moonstones which are mined in Sri Lanka usually have a transparent to milky-white appearance with a bluish luster. The once mined in India have a comparatively darker tone with a hint of orange.
Cut
The moonstone is usually cut into cabochons, as this cut brings out the elegant white-blue shine most impressively.
Cabochon cut: This shape is an unfaceted, round or oval cut, in which the underside is flat and the top is arched outwards. The cabochon cut accentuates and enhances the shimmer inherent in the stone's structure. Those shimmers are especially vivid in cat's eye quartz, falcon and tiger's eye, moonstone and opals.
Faceted cut: There is wide variety of faceted cuts - some of them are displayed in the picture to your right.
Mineral group
The Moonstone belongs to the feldspar family – which is the most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust. It is a representative of the mineral class of silicates and a variety of Orthoclase.
Locations
The most significant moonstone occurrences are in Sri Lanka. The gemstone is also found in India, Australia, Brazil, Burma, Madagascar, Myanmar and Tanzania.
Mohs scale
The Mohs hardness describes the hardness of a mineral on a scale of 1 to 10 and is named after its inventor, the German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs (1773 - 1839). It is the basis of the hardness test. Friedrich Mohs scored various minerals against each other and arranged them according to their hardness. The scale consists of a series of 10 minerals, each of which "scratches" all standing in front of him. Diamonds have a Mohs hardness of 10 and are therefore the hardest minerals.
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1 + 2 can be scratched with the bare fingernail
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1 - 5 can be scratched with the knife
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6 - 10 can be scratched with pane
The moonstone is extremely sensitive to pressure with a relatively low Mohs hardness of 6-6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale.
Care
The best way to care for a moonstone is to clean it with warm, soapy water and a soft cloth.
Not recommended: Steam or ultrasonic cleaning and subject to heat.
Power
Moonstone is considered the stone of strength and fertility. A true regulator of hormone balance. According to Hindu mythology, moonstone is made of solidified moonbeams. It was thought to bring good fortune.
Birthstone
Moonstone is the birthstone of June - along with pearls and alexandrite. So whoever is born in June can be proud to call 3 birthstones their own. Every one of it very special in its own appearance.
Combination
Moonstones with a a white-blueish glow are best combined with silver, white gold or platinum. Worn with a legere cashmere look in greyish colors will complement the style just perfectly. On the other hand orange colored moonstones are best worn with yellow gold and brownish, white or orange colored cloths.