I fancy moonstones

[luxroman]

I'm looking for moonstones... Most specifically rainbow faceted moonstones, how hard are these to find? I've researched several sellers but I can only find clear/blue moonstones, mostly cabochons, for quite cheap... I have a feeling the price difference will be significant once I found a rainbow faceted moonstone. I would appreciate any information/tips/advice!

Also, any recommended sellers for this gemstone specifically?

Thanks

 

[Rfisher]

If you don't want extreme top of the line cutting and material
And willing to invest some time
Try pioneer gem. They have a few.
Caveat- he will not provide extra photos
His preferences trump others, and almost poo poo's them.
He will stand by his 100% refund policy, but may balk if you pay by credit card. Of course return shipping not included.
That being said, he's entertaining.........
Good luck, and be sure to update!

 

[Rfisher]

If you are willing to wait and want really really nice -
Contact d j rare gems or the gem trader and ask them to look for you. They've had nice ones before.

 

[theredspinel]

I got this from Brad at the gem trader. I'm in soo much love with it

Btw the photo with the boldest colours, on the dark ground, isn't due to the dark background only. The stone shows the same intensity of colours in hand too I'm just to lazy to take anymore pics.

(Disclaimer, I never spend more then 5 mins taking a million pics on my phone of my gems. I pay no attention to background setup and minimal attention to what the light is like. I also don't show only the best photos (as long as the colour is truly representative and it's not a shaky pic it will make it up here) so generally people can see the "real life" pics of a stone. Those are the kinds of photos I want to see, around here anyway. Otherwise I'd pick up a gem mag ))

 

[SparkliesLuver]

I know a vendor who had rainbow moonstones but they weren't faceted. Let me know if you'd be interested and I can pass along the info. Otherwise I'll keep looking for faceted ones.

 

[GregS]

If you don't want extreme top of the line cutting and material
And willing to invest some time
Try pioneer gem. They have a few.
Caveat- he will not provide extra photos
His preferences trump others, and almost poo poo's them.
He will stand by his 100% refund policy, but may balk if you pay by credit card. Of course return shipping not included.
That being said, he's entertaining.........
Good luck, and be sure to update!

Sounds all around awful.

 

[Rfisher]

the red spinel
Yours is beautiful!

 

[Rfisher]

If you don't want extreme top of the line cutting and material
And willing to invest some time
Try pioneer gem. They have a few.
Caveat- he will not provide extra photos
His preferences trump others, and almost poo poo's them.
He will stand by his 100% refund policy, but may balk if you pay by credit card. Of course return shipping not included.
That being said, he's entertaining.........
Good luck, and be sure to update!

Sounds all around awful.

O.M.G.!
I know!!!
Amiright?!
Especially the part about his preferences trumping others and poo pooing their preferences.....
Unbelievable!
(Say it like Billy Crystal's character....)

 

[luxroman]

Thanks everyone!

Thank you Rfisher for the recommendations! But, if I understand well, Gem Fixer is not really recommended, is he? I'm a newbie in gemstones, so I'm looking for a trustable seller... Plus I have limited funds and time, so not willing to get myself into a painful transaction...

DJ Rare Gems have moonstones at the moment, but they are not my taste...

I'll ask The Gem Trader! I remember yours theredspinel, it's really gorgeous. Thanks for the "real life" pics!

SparkliesLuver, I'm not a fan of cabochons in general, but I wouldn't say no to looking at some pictures if that seller has some up on the internet! Thank you!

I have also asked Sally from Heart of Water. I've seen Mochiko has some lovely rose cut moonstones from her, and that she has recommended her in an old post.

At the moment I'm mostly looking for a pair to make earrings... But seeing how hard getting a nice one is, I'm a bit discouraged! Maybe I'll have to go for average quality for the earrings and keep the high quality one (when I find it) for a necklace.

Could anyone hint me on how much I can expect to be asked for a rainbow or a nice blue moonstone? I'm aware it'll depend on its quality, but it would help me to have an idea.

Thanks again!!!

 

[mochiko42]

Have you also tried contacting Barry? He usually has high quality moonstone.

As for cost, I would estimate around $50-$100/ct for high quality blue moonstone. For a faceted rainbow moonstone, it would depend on the cutting, size and clarity (as clean rainbow / labradorite moonstone is rare).

 

[luxroman]

I was hoping you would comment, mochiko!
I did not know about Barry, is his company Artistic Colored Stones?
Thank you!

 

[arkieb1]

You probably need to find a reputable vendor many faceted and indeed cabs that are sold as "rainbow moonstones" are Labradorite not moonstone. The Sri Lankan blue material including cabs is becoming quite expensive... so it depends on the quality and origin of what you are looking for as well.

 

[theredspinel]

Yes my rainbow moonstone is labrodite; it's generally accepted in the industry that rainbow moonstone is technically labrodite. The onus is on the buyer to ask the question. Orthoclase rainbow moonstone (that actually shows all the diff colours of the spectrum are tremendously rare).

Brad told me mine was in between/ a combination (?) Of both materials as it's completely clean (like orthoclase) and shows all the colours of the spectrum (like labrodite).

Mine was priced 100$ per caret.

 

[luxroman]

Thank you arkieb1 and theredspinel! I haven't answered before because I spent the last two days reading, thanks to mochiko's thread: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/all-about-feldspar-moonstone-labradorite-sunstone-etc.208567/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/all-about-feldspar-moonstone-labradorite-sunstone-etc.208567/[/URL] thank you Mochiko!

So, I get that the commonly called rainbow moonstone is usually not a proper moonstone, as it is labrodite as opposed to orthoclase. Now my question is: it is not really a problem, unless I see it as one, right? It is a matter of chemical composition, but the two are very similar ("cousins", as called in another thread). It's up to the buyer to decide if he really wants a "proper" moonstone (orthoclase), as opposed to a very similar, precious stone, with a different composition (labrodite)... Or am I missing something?

 

[arkieb1]

I don't think it matters what you buy, if you love the stone, just so long as you are not paying a premium for a blue or a rainbow moonstone when it's really a labradorite. The latter should be cheaper than the former that is all. You can find faceted versions of both, it's just a lot of vendors mislabel labradorite "rainbow moonstone," when really it isn't moonstone. Per carat the top moonstone is a lot more expensive than the top labradorite.

 

[theredspinel]

The thing is it isn't mislabelled
It's accepted in the trade; rainbow moonstone for labrodite.

The best name would be rainbow labrodite but what do I know....

 

[SparkliesLuver]

SparkliesLuver, I'm not a fan of cabochons in general, but I wouldn't say no to looking at some pictures if that seller has some up on the internet! Thank you!

I'd say if you're not a fan of cabs then it probably wouldn't be worth it. Most of their inventory isn't online, so unfortunately window shopping isn't too fun on their site. My eyes are still open for you though!

 

[arkieb1]

The thing is it isn't mislabelled
It's accepted in the trade; rainbow moonstone for labrodite.

The best name would be rainbow labrodite but what do I know....

This is true plenty of vendors call it "rainbow moonstone" and expect everyone knows it's labradorite, but when you buy faceted pieces it gets more tricky because I've seen both pieces of moonstone and labradorite being labelled and sold as "rainbow moonstone." The labradorite is usually more included and should in theory cost less but there are a lot of vendors out there that will pretend it's Sri Lankan Moonstone since a lot of people don't know the difference and charge more for it, that was the point I was making above. Mostly you will get labradorite but not always.

I think it depends on the piece of labradorite I've got a butt ugly green bracelet somewhere which is only on pieces of elastic and has a number of stones strung together, the colour of the stones is a swamp green/baby poo light brown yet they have a wonderful strong peacock rainbow effect which is called Labradorescence (yes that really is a term....) when you move the stones around. The piece I showed in the example in the other thread is blue all the time, it's a paler blue than the moonstone I have and has a different coloured Schiller effect or adularescence. In fact let me cut and paste something I found on the internet since you may or may not be interested in my geeky fascination with Labradorite;

http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-schiller-effect-makes-stone-seem-to-light-up-intern-1622053335

So technically I'd argue there is rainbow labradorite and blue labradorite and just plain butt ugly labradorite

Everyone seems to misspell it, it's Labradorite..... for anyone into Crystal Healing despite being from the same family it is supposed to have a different purpose and different healing properties than Moonstone too, so as previously stated buy whatever you like just be aware true rainbow or blue moonstone should cost more than labradorite and ask the question if you are unsure.

 

[luxroman]

Very interesting article! Both orthoclase and labradorite are such interesting gemstones.
Thanks again arkieb1, theredspinel, and SparkliesLuver

 

[Sunshine76]

I have two blue cat's eye moonstones, one darker than the other, both are transparent toward the center and adularescence. I was told that they are rare, but how rare? How valuable? And how to tell if fake?