One of my favorite gemstone families is the Feldspar group. Feldspars are the most widespread minerals on the crust of the earth. They are also very diverse. They can include common rocks as well as the gorgeous pinks of Kunzite, the dreamy, billowy clouds of moonstone and the rainbow-like quality of the Labradorites.
My favorite of the feldspars are the phenomenal one....moonstone, labradorite, and the gorgeous blue color of the microcline feldspar, Amazonite, which is a wonderful turquoise alternative.
Moonstone has a property called adularesence. It is a blue sheen which billows across the surface of the gem. It is caused by the scattering of light by stacked alternating layers of the mineral. It has a delicate almost magical quality. Moonstone was very popular in the early 1900's in Europe and the United States, where the people appreciated it for its sheen and rarity. The finest moonstone is a gem of glassy purity with a billowing electric blue shimmer.
Moonstones can be semitransparent to opaque, colorless to white and have a blue, silver, or while adularescent effect. Moonstone body colors can range from green, yellow to brown or gray to nearly black. Some may have chatoyancy, (cat's eye effect), and some may even display a star.
Another one of my absolute favorites is Labradorite. It was discovered by a missionary off the coast of Labrador in Canada, around 1770. Gemologists know it for its labradoresence. The phenomenal colors, which can resemble the iridescent pattern on a butterfly's wing, are caused by light interference reflecting off the layered structure of the mineral.
Moonstone and Labradorite are both fairly soft and rate a 6 on the Mohs hardness scale. Labradorite cleaves easily so I prefer to design my Labradorite and moonstone jewelry in to earrings and necklaces to guard against breakage and scratching. Labradorite has been relatively unknown until recently. But once you see labradorite, you will fall in love with it and marvel at its natural beauty.
By: Pamela McCombs of PZM Designs
http://shop.pzmdesigns.com/main.sc
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The Feldspars
One of my favorite gemstone families is the Feldspar group. Feldspars are the most widespread minerals on the crust of the earth. They are also very diverse. They can include common rocks as well as the gorgeous pinks of Kunzite, the dreamy, billowy clouds of moonstone and the rainbow-like quality of the Labradorites.
My favorite of the feldspars are the phenomenal one....moonstone, labradorite, and the gorgeous blue color of the microcline feldspar, Amazonite, which is a wonderful turquoise alternative.
Moonstone has a property called adularesence. It is a blue sheen which billows across the surface of the gem. It is caused by the scattering of light by stacked alternating layers of the mineral. It has a delicate almost magical quality. Moonstone was very popular in the early 1900's in Europe and the United States, where the people appreciated it for its sheen and rarity. The finest moonstone is a gem of glassy purity with a billowing electric blue shimmer.
Moonstones can be semitransparent to opaque, colorless to white and have a blue, silver, or while adularescent effect. Moonstone body colors can range from green, yellow to brown or gray to nearly black. Some may have chatoyancy, (cat's eye effect), and some may even display a star.
Another one of my absolute favorites is Labradorite. It was discovered by a missionary off the coast of Labrador in Canada, around 1770. Gemologists know it for its labradoresence. The phenomenal colors, which can resemble the iridescent pattern on a butterfly's wing, are caused by light interference reflecting off the layered structure of the mineral.
Moonstone and Labradorite are both fairly soft and rate a 6 on the Mohs hardness scale. Labradorite cleaves easily so I prefer to design my Labradorite and moonstone jewelry in to earrings and necklaces to guard against breakage and scratching. Labradorite has been relatively unknown until recently. But once you see labradorite, you will fall in love with it and marvel at its natural beauty.
By: Pamela McCombs of PZM Designs
http://shop.pzmdesigns.com/main.sc
My favorite of the feldspars are the phenomenal one....moonstone, labradorite, and the gorgeous blue color of the microcline feldspar, Amazonite, which is a wonderful turquoise alternative.
Moonstone has a property called adularesence. It is a blue sheen which billows across the surface of the gem. It is caused by the scattering of light by stacked alternating layers of the mineral. It has a delicate almost magical quality. Moonstone was very popular in the early 1900's in Europe and the United States, where the people appreciated it for its sheen and rarity. The finest moonstone is a gem of glassy purity with a billowing electric blue shimmer.
Moonstones can be semitransparent to opaque, colorless to white and have a blue, silver, or while adularescent effect. Moonstone body colors can range from green, yellow to brown or gray to nearly black. Some may have chatoyancy, (cat's eye effect), and some may even display a star.
Another one of my absolute favorites is Labradorite. It was discovered by a missionary off the coast of Labrador in Canada, around 1770. Gemologists know it for its labradoresence. The phenomenal colors, which can resemble the iridescent pattern on a butterfly's wing, are caused by light interference reflecting off the layered structure of the mineral.
Moonstone and Labradorite are both fairly soft and rate a 6 on the Mohs hardness scale. Labradorite cleaves easily so I prefer to design my Labradorite and moonstone jewelry in to earrings and necklaces to guard against breakage and scratching. Labradorite has been relatively unknown until recently. But once you see labradorite, you will fall in love with it and marvel at its natural beauty.
By: Pamela McCombs of PZM Designs
http://shop.pzmdesigns.com/main.sc
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