Moonstone Adularia (1) Raw Minerals Stones Rocks Collecting

Description

Origin : India

Moonstone or Adularia 5-9 gr - cm 2-3 Raw Minerals Stones Rocks for Collection.

Moonstone or Hecatolite is a silicate of sodium potassium and aluminum ((Na,K) AlSi3O8) of hydrothermal origin. The most common moonstone is the orthoclase feldspar mineral Adularia, named after an ancient mining site near Mount Adulare in Switzerland.
The name Pietra di Luna derives from the characteristic visual effect of the stone, called adularescence (or schiller), which produces a milky and bluish internal light, giving the stone a pearly and opalescent appearance. This effect is caused by the diffraction of light through alternating layers of orthoclasts and albite within the stone. The diffracted light varies from white to blue, depending on the thinness of the albite layers. More technically, this microstructure consists of regular exsolution layers (lamellae) of different alkali feldspars (orthoclase and sodium-rich plagioclase).
The crystalline habit is pseudorhombohedral. Moonstone crystals can have complex geminations.
The largest moonstone deposits are found in Armenia, Australia, the Austrian Alps, Mexico, Madagascar, Myanmar, Norway, Poland, India, Sri Lanka and the United States. Historically, the most precious and transparent moonstones with a strong blue luster came from Myanmar. Today, most commercial moonstones come from Sri Lanka.
Polished moonstones often exhibit a chatoyancy effect ("cat's eye" effect), where a bright streak appears across the stone.
Moonstone has been used in jewelry for millennia, including in ancient civilizations. The Romans, but also in ancient India, believed that it was derived from the solidified rays of the Moon, thus allowing them to be captured. The name of the stone, in the Hindi language, is chandrakant, which means loved (kant) by the moon (chandra).