Feldspar
Moonstone
- Mohs
- 6 – 6.5
- Colour
- Milky white to grey
- Every day
- With care
Feldspar
Moonstone
Adularescence: light bounces between microscopic layers inside the stone, which is why the sheen slides across the surface as your hand moves. It also means a photograph never tells you what a moonstone looks like. I keep a tray of them and I would rather you saw them in daylight.
The facts
- Family
- Feldspar
- Hardness
- 6 – 6.5 on the Mohs scale
- Colour
- Milky white to grey, with a blue sheen that moves as you tilt it
- Where hers come from
- Sri Lanka, southern India
- What she pays
- £12 – £60 for a good 8mm cabochon
- Everyday wear
- With care
What will damage it
Knocks. Feldspar cleaves — it splits along a plane rather than chipping at a corner — so one hard hit on a doorframe can take a piece off cleanly.
In a ring you wear daily
With care