Description

Moonstone is a feldspar with a pearly and opalescent luster. The most common moonstone is of the mineral adularia. Adularia moonstone is an almost transparent pale grey or silvery white with blue shimmer. It’s composed of two intermingled feldspar species, albite and orthoclase. As the newly formed mineral cools, the orthoclase and albite separate into stacked, alternating layers. When light hits these layers, it scatters in many directions producing a phenomenon called adularescence. The Romans admired moonstone, as they believed it was born from solidified rays of the moon. Both the Romans and the Greeks associated moonstone with their lunar goddesses and gods. Moonstone is the state gem of Florida and is the alternate birthstone for June.