MYSTERY OF THE MOON
Rainbow moonstone jewelry is a perfect summer treat! Adored for its bohemian style, this feldspar jewel is best known for its pale body color and unique prismatic sheen. Join us as we try to catch some moonbeams in the form of precious moon glow moonstone!
ORIGIN OF ADULARESCENCE
Have you ever gazed into a rainbow moonstone ring, or any other kind of feldspar jewelry? The finest examples display a unique phenomenon called adularescence. This is the unique glow effect that we can witness when handling these white gems.
A combination of two feldspar types, orthoclase and albite, help create its uniquely beautiful appearance. And, during formation, the two minerals separate, creating alternating layers of material throughout the stone.
Now the magic happens! Once formed, light passing through the gemstone scatters, creating that glowing effect just below the surface. We call this adularescence. Lastly, the appearance of motion is what gives rainbow moonstone jewelry its unique moon glow.
Adularescence sounds like a mouthful, but the word has an interesting origin. Early moonstone was first found in and around Mount Adular in Switzerland. In fact, before it was called moonstone we knew this jewel as adularia, named for mountain! Nowadays, this legacy lives on in describing the phenomenon of adularescence.
CREATING RAINBOW MOONSTONE JEWELRY
Crafting a rainbow moonstone pendant, or any other piece of exquisite jewelry, is a labor of love. Adularescence is as difficult to catch as moonlight itself! At Shop LC, our vertically integrated relationship allows us to provide some of the finest material we’ve seen.
SOURCING
We deal directly with the mine, cut the stones ourselves, and create our own jewelry. That’s how our vertically integrated business avoids traditional retail markups which can be as high as 300-percent!
Moonstone itself is found across the globe. However, the rough material coming from Jharkhand, India, is among the best. The Shop LC team sources high-quality rough stone directly from the mine. Even so, these is still a lot of effort put into creating unique and beautiful jewelry.
MINING
Mining this orthoclase stone is not a year-round endeavor. Instead, it is an off-season activity for miners. You see, most are farmers who till the soil and cultivate plants for most of the year. However, when there is no farming to be done, farmers become miners and work seasonally to help extract this precious jewel.
As there is no formal mining process, the produced yield varies over time. In addition, most work is done by hand by small-scale artisanal mining methods. This means that workers use hand tools and lots of elbow grease to find good rough material.
Workers must dig between 600 to 700 feet below the surface to find good rocks. And, even after digging it up, rough stone must be processed before becoming rainbow moonstone jewelry.
CRAFTING
Complicating matters is how much material Shop LC must reject. Our expert lapidary team must reject most material, simply because it’s not up to snuff. As described above, only material with those alternating layers of feldspar will show adularescence – the moon glow effect.
As a result, there is a lot of material lost during the cutting process. Out of 100 kilograms of material, only about 40 kg will be selected for cutting. From there, the final yield is just 7 to 10 percent!
From there, finished products are scrutinized under careful quality control. Between 30 to 40 percent is approved for use in our products. It’s these rare and precious stones which will become rainbow moonstone jewelry.
RAINBOW MOONSTONE LORE
First and foremost, rainbow moonstone jewelry is a symbol of love. There are many accounts of this quality, but one of the best known is the one shared by G. F. Kunz.
Over a century ago, Kunz wrote in The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, “as a gift for lovers the moonstone takes a high rank, or it is believed to arouse the tender passion, and to give lovers the power to read in the future the fortune, good or ill, that is in store for them.”
Kunz goes on to relay in this story that a moonstone must be place in the mouth for things to work. The original story is even older, however, going back to the sixteenth century, and was first recorded in an early lapidary work known as “De lapidibus.”
Is it a coincidence that many ancient cultures associated the stone with moonlight? Ancient Romans, Greeks, and Indians all saw a connection between moonstone and the moon herself.
In fact, Hindus believed that moonstone was formed of solidified moonlight! Greeks saw a connection between the stone and Hecate and called it hecatolite to honor her. Also, the Romans believed that moonstone could influence romance, intuition, dreams and emotions, the domains of their goddess, Luna.
Knowing this it should come as no surprise that moonstone is still considered a sacred stone. Even in modern India, it is said to bring good luck. The Indian word for moonstone is chandrakanta, meaning ‘beloved by the moon.’
Today, moonstone still is highly popular. It is one of the three June birthstones. Moonstone used to be the preferred gift for the 13th wedding anniversary, and it is even the Florida state gemstone!
RAINBOW MOONSTONE JEWELRY AT SHOP LC
Moonstone is often seen as a bohemian gem, and honestly, it’s no surprise. In modern times, moonstone was quite popular during the Art Nouveau movement.
Embracing curved lines, organic forms, and softness, it was a perfect fit for rainbow moonstone jewelry. Designers like Rene Lalique incorporating the gem into their jewelry pieces.
Shop LC continues this tradition of elegance with its own special offerings. Using premium gemstones there is a great selection of styles and shapes available. So, whether you prefer something sweet and simple, or a little more decadent, you can find the right piece for you.
Discover mysterious rainbow moonstone jewelry at Shop LC.
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