Moonstone Gemstone
"Moonstone gemstone owes its name to a mystical shimmer which resembles moonlight."
It was cherished by Romans and Greeks who associated it with lunar gods and goddesses while Arab women reportedly sew moonstone into their garments because the gemstone is considered a symbol of fertility.
Moonstone belongs to the mineral group feldspar, one of the most abundant minerals on Earth.
Deposits of Moonstone occur in Australia, the Austrian Alps, Mexico, Madagascar, Burma, Norway, Poland, Sri Lanka and America.
Moonstone was extremely popular about a hundred years ago at the time of Art Nouveau.
It adorns a large number of jewellery creations of the French goldsmith René Lalique and his contemporaries.
In their uncut state Moonstones are dull and boring and are not shown to advantage until a cutter has performed his/her art.
The almost transparent Moonstone with a bluish shimmer is most sought after, although the pale champagne, green, brown, orange, smoky, black and reddish are also popular.
Moonstone should be handled with care, for it is sensitive to wear being fairly soft.
Some Moonstones present with a four-rayed star which normally shows in honey-colour, peach and greenish varieties.
Moonstone gemstone. By the_justified_sinner
This page was written by Magda Palmer, a gemmologist and the author of The Healing Power of Crystals
, Precious Stones
and Feng Shui Student
Manual
, which I
highly recommend.Back to List of Gemstones
