These gorgeous stones are used quite often in BISOULOVELY jewelry. Not only are they named after the moon, but they glow like crystallized moonlight. But what are moonstones? Are there different types of moonstones? What causes moonstones to have that moonbeam glow effect? 

What are Moonstones?

According to The Gemological Institute of America (GIA), moonstones are apart of of the feldspar group of minerals and are composed of two minerals:

• orthoclase
• and alabite

that form two different layers in the gem. These two layers will be key to creating that moonstone glow. When light shines in between these two layers it will create that effect called adularescence.

Normally when light shines on a gem, it either is absorbed or passes through; however with moonstones, the light gets scattered because of the different layers inside. 

Types of Moonstones

Moonstones can come in many different colors and types. The three main types of moonstones are:

• cat eyes
• star
• rainbow 

Cat eye moonstones have a singular silver white band across the top. Star moonstones are basically cat eye moonstones that happen to have a second band that intersects with the first band to form a star pattern. This effect is called asterism and can be seen in specific lighting.

Rainbow moonstones

These are the last type of moonstone and are used quite frequently in BISOULOVELY pieces.When there is no light on the moonstones, they look semi transparent and white. You may notice striations and variations in the stones from the layers of minerals.

When light is shined on them, they feature a multicolored, milky glow with predominantly hues of blue. There might be other colors too, hence the name rainbow moonstones. 

Our Pieces

Here are some pieces in our collection that use rainbow moonstones: 

• Chloe Ring & Necklace
• Melody Ring & Neclace
• Venus Ring
• Diana Ring
• Luna Ring