The Moonstone is characterised by an enchanting play of light. Tt owes its name to the Blue Sheen which looks different when the stone is turned and is known as 'adularescence'. - The cause is the lamellar inner construction of the gemstone. Incident light rays are refracted and scattered in the stone and a unique light effect is created which makes the moonstone so distinctive.
Sri Lanka is the main source country of moonstone, Moonstones shimmer in pale blue on an almost transparent background and belongs to the large mineral groupof the feldspars, a variety known as 'adularia', a potassium aluminosilicate of gemstone quail.
Moonstone is the most well known variety of orthoclase feldspar. It characteristically exhibits a milky floating blue light known as adularescence or the schiller effect. This lovely sheen is due to a combination of orthoclase and albite arranged in layers. Light reflected from the layers if they are not too thick is responsible for the unusual optical properties.
Sri Lanka is the main source country of the Blue-sheen moonstone - the most attractive type.
