Moonstone (gemstone)

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Not to be confused with Moon rock.

Moonstone

General

Category

Feldsparvariety

Identification

Color

Canbenumerouscolors,includingblue,grey,
white,pink,peach,greenandbrown

Fracture

uneventoconchoidal

Mohsscalehardness 6.0

Luster

Opalescent

Streak

white

Specificgravity

2.61

Moonstone is a sodium potassium aluminium silicate, with the chemical formula (Na,K)AlSi3O8.

Contents
[hide]

1Etymology

2History

3Geology
3.1Formation

4Occurrence

5References

Etymology[edit]
Its name is derived from a visual effect, or sheen, caused by light diffraction within a microstructure
consisting of a regular succession of feldspar layers.

History[edit]
Moonstone has been used in jewelry for centuries, including ancient civilizations. The Romans admired
moonstone, as they believed it was born from solidified rays of the moon.[1] Both the Romans and Greeks
associated Moonstone with their lunar deities. In more recent history, the moonstone became popular
during the Art Nouveau period; French goldsmith Ren Lalique and many others created a large quantity
of jewelry using this stone.[2]

Geology[edit]
The most common moonstone is of the mineral adularia, named for an early mining site near Mt. Adular
in Switzerland, now the town of St. Gotthard.[3] The plagioclase feldspar oligoclase also produces
moonstone specimens. Moonstone is feldspar with a pearly and opalescent schiller.[3][4] An alternative
name is hecatolite.[4]

Formation[edit]
Moonstone is composed of two feldspar species, orthoclase and albite. The two species are
intermingled. Then, as the newly formed mineral cools, the intergrowth of orthoclase and albite
separates into stacked, alternating layers. When light falls between these thin, flat layers, it scatters in
many directions producing the phenomenon called adularescence.

Occurrence[edit]

Polished moonstone cabochon

Deposits of moonstone occur in Armenia (mainly from Lake Sevan), Australia, the Austrian
Alps, Mexico, Madagascar, Myanmar, Norway, Poland, India, Sri Lanka[5] and the United States.[4]
It is currently the state gem for Florida, to commemorate the Moon landings, which took off from Florida.
Despite it being the state gem, it does not naturally occur in Florida.[6]