Somewhere over the rainbow

Rainbow moonstone 3mm rose cut round AAA, $3
Rainbow moonstone 3mm rose cut round AAA, $3

I’ve probably used that title before, but it has real poignancy now, as this is the last lot of AAA rainbow moonstone I am going to have for a while, and I may as well look for more at the end of the rainbow, along with the crock of gold. It’s 3mm rose cut round, and when it’s gone, it’s gone, so if this is your thing, grab it now before it runs out. Lovely, clean material with bright blue, green and gold adularescence (flash). I’ve got it in both Hong Kong and US stores: the Hong Kong store has stones with the kite shaped-faceting and the US store has the triangle facets. Why is the AAA so hard to find now (and it is, and if you can find it, it is an arm and a leg jobby)? Well, as usual, it’s a supply and demand thing – people have become more aware of the fine grade moonstone in recent years, and more prepared to pay extra for it. But it’s scarce because of the way moonstone is formed, in many layers. This layered makeup is what gives the stone its classic blue or green flash, as light refracts off the layers and produces that unworldly sheen that appears sometimes suspended within the stone. A layered makeup is obviously going to most commonly produce a very fractured stone; which then interferes with the refraction of light and results in a poor flash. There is absolutely no shortage of this kind of material at all, but the clean material is obviously less common in nature. You can find it here in my Hong Kong store, and here in my US store, $3 per stone each in either store.

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Rainbow moonstone 4mm rose cut AA

I’m so pleased to have this back in stock: 4mm rose cut rainbow moonstone. Now, previously I’ve stocked AAA grade, but I just can’t get it any more. We just can’t find the rough. Obviously gemstones are a finite resource, and once they’re gone, they’re gone, unless and until, of course, a new source is found. So this is AA quality. It’s still pretty good; not completely clean, as you would expect. You’ll find some veils and small internal fractures, but in appearance it’s fairly clean, and the adularescence (flash) is good. Bear in mind that the photographs are taken with an unforgiving macro lens and blown up many times beyond their actual size, so it’s like looking at the stones through a loupe. These stones are $4.40 each, and you can find them here. To shop all rainbow moonstone click here.

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Somewhere over the (extremely tiny) rainbow

Joopy Gems rainbow moonstone 2mm rose cut round, $2.85
Joopy Gems rainbow moonstone 2mm rose cut round, $2.85
Joopy Gems rainbow moonstone 2mm rose cut round, $2.85

Well, it’s a bit of a gamble, this. I’ve had a few requests lately for very tiny stones; 2mm to be precise, for things like baby jewellery and other tiny things. I hummed and haa-ed a bit: will anyone really buy these? – and then I thought, ‘blow it, only one way to find out’. So here we are. I already have 2mm rose cut white diamond in stock, and now I am introducing 2mm rose cut rainbow moonstone. These are really very wee indeed but even so, they have the same beautifully precise cut with the intricate kite-shaped facets. Whew! Plus lovely, clean AAA material with the classic great flash that I always endeavour to deliver. What are you going to do with these? Please buy some and send me pictures!! These are the first of a line of stones in this size, cabochons and rose cuts. I’m going to have amethyst, turquoise, peridot, aquamarine, opal and more!

To shop 2mm rose cut rainbow moonstone, click here. These are $2.85 per stone, and I know what you’re going to say: whew, that’s a bit steep. A great deal of the cost is in the cutting; very small stones are precision work and finding someone who will agree to cut them, and cut them well is no easy matter.

I normally feature someone’s work on these posts, so you can see the stones I’m talking about ‘in action’ as it were. But I couldn’t find anything for these, so…watch this space!

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A billowing blue light

5mm RMST AA RCRD-2
Rainbow moonstone, 5mm rose cut round, AA grade. $11 per stone.

Back in stock I have AA grade 5mm rainbow moonstone. This is one of those products I can’t really get to order; I put in an order that goes ‘well this is how many I’d like, but just give me as many as you can.’ Because it’s becoming increasingly scarce, nice quality rainbow moonstone. This is a bit included, hence the AA but appears generally transparent with a wonderful billowing sheen that flashes from the stones. There’s blue, aqua, green and a few of the more gold tones. This material is from Madagascar and is just the antidote to all that cloudy, fractured sheen-barely-there material, of which there is, of course, no shortage whatsover! These stones are $11 each and you can find there here. To browse my entire range of rainbow moonstone you can click here for AA and AAA grade and click here for AB and A grade.

You can see this material perfectly realised below in Nicki Gluckman from NIXIN’s rainbow moonstone and diamond ring set in 14k gold, $225:

NIXIN rainbow moonstone, diamond and 14k gold ring
NIXIN rainbow moonstone, diamond and 14k gold ring, $225

 

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Rainbow dreams

Joopy Gems 3mm rainbow moonstone cabochons

It’s so hard to keep this material in stock. 3mm rainbow moonstone cabochons, clean quality. I also try not to run out of it, and re-order before it’s completely gone, but then someone comes along and buys up the entire stock, and we can’t find the rough and before I know where we are, I’m out for months! Anyway, this is the first of the 3mm and 4mm restock – plain cabochons, now $1.55 per stone. There’s so much of the cloudy, fractured material about, that when you see a clear stone with bright adularescence (or flash) it can take your breath away. In fact, a customer said to me just yesterday, having received her stones ‘is this real?’ Because the extreme, billowing flash can have an almost unreal appearance. It’s truly astonishing. (Answer, by the way, is yes, it is real. As far as I am aware, this is not synthesised at all). Harder and harder – and very expensive – to find in larger sizes, I can still just about put my hands on it for smaller sizes. Now, I’m not a fan of AAA etc grading systems as it is so subjective, and not standardised, but I do use it for moonstone as I carry such a wide range of qualities. This is AAA material, and for that you can expect clean stones with great adularescence. As for what to do with it, below is a lesson in perfect, understated elegance from one of my lovely customers. This sterling silver and rainbow moonstone ring from Brightsmith features a 3mm moonstone on a narrow, hammered silver band, $28.

Brightsmith 3mm Tiny Rainbow Moonstone Stacking Ring in Sterling Silver - Super Thin Micro Stacker with Smooth or Hammered Band

To shop 3mm AAA cabochons, click here; to shop all my AA and AAA rainbow moonstone, click here. To shop my entire range, click here.

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Somewhere over the rainbow

Rainbow moonstone cabochons assorted sizesFrom which you can deduce that this is all about rainbow moonstone. I have just listed a selection of sizes, shapes and qualities. The best of it is very, very good and the least good is still pretty nice. Top of the pile are 6mm AAA cabochons, almost completely clean with superb adularescence. It’s becoming hard to find nice quality rainbow moonstone, and to find it at a good price is well nigh impossible. Well, aren’t you lucky lot, because at $19 per stone, this represents fantastic value. For the first time I am offering oval cabochons, 8x6mm and 10x8mm. I have these in AA and A quality. Obviously as I am sure you all know, the larger the stone, the harder it is to find clean material, but the AA is pretty good even in the larger size; just a few wisps and internal fractures, and the A is more included but not overly so and the adularescence for both is really good. Prices are $16 and $24 for the AA and $8 and $14 for the A, 8x6mm and 10x8mm respectively I also have 10mm, 8mm and 6mm in A and AA. The 10mm AA is really nice; almost clean stones with superb flash in a 10mm size, and the price an excitement-inducing $26.50. I’ve saved a few of these for my own personal use as they are not just sublimely beautiful but also a good investment with the soaring prices of cleaner moonstone. Prices range from $4 per stone for the 6mm A to $26.50 for the 10mm AA. Now, I don’t have many of any of these, so if you like them, don’t dilly-dally. Click here to shop!