Moonstone is a variety of feldspar minerals specifically orthoclase feldspar, a potassium aluminum silicate. Feldspar is makes up about 60% of the Earth's crust which means there are many other feldspar related gemstones such as Amazonite and Labradorite. Feldspar is divided into two classes: Potassium feldspar and plagioclase feldspar. All varieties of moonstone are potassium feldspar.
Moonstone is usually colorless and translucent , but it occurs in a wide range of colors, such gray, mocha brown, yellow, orange, green, pink, blue and white. It most often exhibits a white to bluish-white sheen, but other sheens can occur such as silvery and blue-orange.
Moonstone's name is derived from a visual effect, or shimmer, caused by light diffraction within a microstructure consisting of a regular succession of feldspar layers. Moonstone has a pearly or a metallic iridescence when viewed at different angles. White moonstone named after the moom for its magical, bluish white shimmer it exhibits.. Gemologists refer to the shimmering phenomena as 'adularescence'. With moonstone, the aura of light actually appears to glow from deep within the surface of the stone caused by its unique structural pattern.
Moonstone is found in Sri Lanka and India. Other sources include Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Myanmar (Burma), Madagascar, Mexico, Norway, Switzerland, Tanzania, and the United States.
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