True moonstones have some type of transparency, luster, or color; some type of transparency is easily recognized by someone with experience. Real moonstones have a specific transparency, color and brightness that can be easily identified by experienced people. Most forms of natural moonstone have a natural blue lustre that refracts light that hits the stone.

Real moonstone will appear as a milky white stone with a number of occlusions. The stone may have green or blue tints. It also possesses a characteristic called adularescence. This is a unique form of shimmering found nearly exclusively in moonstone, and the shimmer is the key feature used for identifying it.

The white and blue hues of the stone may be more pronounced in the white moonstone variety, but the color is not so different as to be noticed by many. Moonstone may be translucent with a strong blue tint on the surface, or may be milky with the appearance of internal light. Moonstone shines with cold moonlight, but it is a feldspar mineral that is very earthy in nature. The fresh water quality and pearly white light of the moonstone are the most synonymous aspects of its name, but there are many different varieties of this unique stone.

Remember the Unique Appearance of Rainbow Moonstone

Due to the colors of the rainbow, rainbow moonstone has a more joyful and energetic vibe than the classic moonstone varieties, which are mostly white or blue. When there are very few inclusions in an iridescent moonstone, the stone will also have fewer colors. If you buy a rainbow moonstone that is too small, it may look boring because you don’t see enough colors.

A high quality moonstone may be transparent with a few inclusions, but it will never look like glass. Some very expensive varieties of moonstone appear almost transparent due to their transparency, but even these will not have the milky glassy appearance of opalite.

Faux glass looks too clean and may have small air bubbles inside, while real moonstones will have visible layers or natural inclusions inside the gemstone. Therefore, natural moonstone has features such as inclusions or cracks of real moonstone and is not completely transparent like glass or milky white.

When looking at a real moonstone, in most cases you can see the various layers within the stone. If you look at the moonstone in the light, you can see the layered structure inside.

How Moonstone Is Supposed to Appear

The effect is a moving and bright glow that appears just below the surface of the moon rock as a result of the unique composition of the microscopic structure within the rock itself. The milky sheen or wavy glow effect that seems to come from under the surface of moonstone gemstones is known as adularescence. When light kisses a moonstone, you will notice an extraordinary optical quality called adularescence.

When light penetrates between these thin layers, it produces a familiar phenomenon seen in moonstone called adularescence. This luster, called adularescence, is due to the way light interacts with the moonstone, reflecting the layers of feldspar minerals from which it is made. It is known for its adularescence, which is the ability of light to penetrate the crystalline structure and reflect back and forth, creating a shimmering aura or quality. Moonstone encapsulates all this magic and more, this albite mineral is pierced with rays of light and has a milky sheen, also known as adularescence.

A moonstone showing adularity is also highly valued as it adds beauty to the stone and can influence the appearance of the color. The most popular moonstone color is colorless or translucent with a blue highlight (called blue glitter) that can be seen from all sides of the stone.

How to Appraise the Valuable Moonstone Specimens

If moonstones are colorless and translucent with a blue tint, they tend to be more valuable and expensive. They pair beautifully with other gemstones and you will often find moonstones paired with other colored stones. A real moonstone, like any other gemstone, may vary slightly in appearance; however, to be called a moonstone, the gem must have significant adularescence.

Translucent moonstones are beautiful too, with a soft milky sheen, but opaque moonstones don’t show the beauty we’re used to associating with these stones, so they’re best avoided. It should be noted that the transparency of the moonstone can vary, and the stones can be completely transparent, opaque and solid.

Rarer and more expensive moonstones will be colorless with a floating or Schiller blue that appears to float above the stone. Moonstones come in a variety of colors, but the most sought after and therefore precious is the intense blue that appears to float on the surface of the gemstones. The best moonstone has a blue luster, perfect clarity, and a colorless body color. The best royal moonstones have a colorless, translucent or nearly transparent appearance and a bright blue highlight, sometimes referred to in the trade as blue glitter.

The Unique Polish Feature of a Moonstone

Adularescence causes the surface of Polish moonstone to glow blue and whitish, similar to moonlight. When light intersects with moonstones in the various layers of feldspar, the moonstone emits a pearlescent bluish-white glow.

The best moonstone is a glass-clear gemstone with a moving electric blue shimmer. Moonstones come in white, grey, pink, yellow, orange, brown and red, each with its own natural beauty, but it is the sheen or shimmer that appears almost liquid on their surface that creates value. As a result, many very cloudy moonstones, some of which have an intense body color, are cut as tall domed cabochons, so that the brilliance of many highly cloudy moonstones gathers into an iridescent silvery-white band (similar to cat’s-eye optical phenomena) across the top.

It is noteworthy that the moonstone, with its bluish-white adularity, is a delight to jewelers, as it looks dreamy and beautiful when made into various jewels. Like other moonstones, Sri Lankan moonstone has a distinctive blue color and has been widely used in jewelry for centuries. Moonstone can be made into most types of jewelry, and with proper care and maintenance, it also works well as an engagement ring stone.