June Birthstones: Moonstone, Pearl, Alexandrite

June is one of only THREE months to offer more than two options for birthstones. When you consider varieties and sub types its actually waay more than three.

MOONSTONE:

The world of Moonstones is an intriguing one. In this post I will be talking about the stones that are referred to as Moonstone in the gem-trade.

The most famous moonstone is the rainbow moonstone with a milky white moonlike shimmer plus a rainbow effect when it moves. It is actually a variety of labradorite but thats a topic for another day. We call it Moonstone. If you pick up one thing from this blogpost let it be this:

"To be called moonstone, a mineral’s actual identity is not as important as the beauty of its adularescence." (GIA)  

Moonstone has many varieties; what they all have in common is some degree of 'light play'. Their beauty depends on your perspective. From translucent milky whites vibrant light play to muted translucent greys, greens, brown and of course peach. This light that appears to billow across the gemstone can be blue, silver white or rainbow.

Flawless pendant with light green moonstone

A few things to note if you want Moonstone in your jewellery box. As far as hardness goes; Moonstone is a gemstone that needs a bit more care. Whilst it is not as soft as opals it is also not as tough as a ruby.  If you are like me and can't resist the allure of the light play, rest assured with the proper care Moonstone can last for ages.

Peach Moonstone ring.

 PEARLS:

As you may already know, at some point in the life of many an oyster or mussel a foreign substance like sand gets into the muscle and super irritates the oyster. Instead of expelling the interloper the oyster/mussel covers it with a secretion. The longer the irritation is there the more the oyster coats it and over time it becomes a pearl!

In bygone eras it was believed that pearls were teardrops from heaven, which makes sense considering that for there to be a pearl there needs to be a body of water. Rivers, oceans, lakes which explains terms like fresh water pearls or saltwater pearls.Years and years of pearl farming have eroded natural pearls so most of the pearls you see today are cultured. Cultured basically means that there has been some human intervention. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Smooth, rough, smooth with rough, ringed surfaces, there is a vast array.

Msasa Pearl Twist chain- Pearl with a ringed surface. 

Pearls are often found under pretty blue skies in stunning landscapes and warm water. This picky gem does not thrive in polluted water! Pearl farms are usually in beautiful pristine areas, which makes for a rather lovely, beautiful reminder to carry. In terms of durability and toughness pearls  are soft so they need care to avoid scratching.

ALEXANDRITE:

And now we come to perhaps the most famous June Birthstones. Alexandrite enjoys quite the reputation amongst all gemstones. This is mostly because of its shocking colour change in different lighting; vibrant green to bluish green in natural light or fluorescent light and a brilliant red to purplish red in incandescent light. As the name suggests Alexandrite was discovered in Russia and named after Alexander II. Gemstone quality Alexandrite in larger sizes is incredibly rare! It also tends to have few inner imperfections. In terms of hardness and durability Alexandrite is up there with the best of them. All this makes for one expensive gemstone.

Due to popular demand, we currently keep only lab-created Alexandrite in the studio. It has made for some striking custom made pieces in the past:

If you are interested in a custom-made Alexandrite piece tap here.

And thats it for June Birthstones. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.  I would love to know how you found this blog post, did you find it bit much or do you want more of the gemstone stuff? Please take a moment to comment below! (Your email will not be published)