Shop the look: Solid Gold Essential Moonstone Ring
The only true consistency among natural moonstones is their inconsistencies. What can appear to the naked eye to be a crack or fogginess on the stone's surface is more often than not an outcome of the stone's natural state.
Have you ever taken a closer look at your favorite moonstone jewels and noticed little imperfections? Read on for what causes these inconsistencies and why these supposed flaws are actually what give moonstones their mesmerizing glow.
Why Your Moonstone Has a Crack In It
Moonstones are formed when two minerals called orthoclase and albite are combined. Once combined, these minerals separate into stacked layers. When light shines through a moonstone, these layers cause the light to scatter and reflect, creating that moonstone glow you know and love (aka adularescence). In short, those "cracks" you're seeing aren't really cracks at all; they're actually thin layers of minerals, and they're responsible for the beauty of the stone. Labradorite is a similar stone from the same mineral family as moonstone called feldspar. Labradorite's blueish glow, referred to as labradorescence, is also caused by alternating layers of minerals.
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Why Natural Stones Aren't "Perfect"
Natural stones are organically created in nature, making each and every one unique. This also means that it's nearly impossible to find a natural stone that has zero imperfections. These imperfections are referred to as "inclusions," and often appear as small air bubbles or color variation. When a gem cutter is cutting a raw gemstone, they'll typically choose a type of stone cut that masks as many inclusions as possible (you can learn more about the gem cutting process and stone cuts here). If you want a stone to look as perfect as possible with no natural variation, you may want to choose a piece of jewelry that has lab created or simulated stones, both of which are man made in a controlled environment, eliminating the inclusions found in natural gems. You can learn more about the differences between natural, synthetic, and simulated stones here.