How to Buy Moonstone: Adularescence, Quality Grades, and Avoiding Opalite Fakes
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Moonstone is one of the most beautiful and most frequently misrepresented gemstones in the healing crystal market. Its distinctive optical phenomenon — adularescence, the floating blue-white glow that seems to move within the stone — makes it immediately recognizable when genuine. The problem is that a very convincing fake — Opalite, a man-made glass — is widely sold as Moonstone, often without disclosure. Knowing the difference is essential.
What Genuine Moonstone Looks Like
Moonstone is a feldspar mineral (orthoclase or albite) whose distinctive optical phenomenon — adularescence — is produced by light scattering between alternating layers of feldspar with slightly different compositions. The result is a floating, billowing glow that appears to move within the stone as it is tilted — like moonlight on water.
Adularescence: The defining quality of genuine Moonstone. The glow should appear to float within the stone, not on its surface. It should be blue-white to white, and it should move as the stone is tilted. The finest quality Moonstone (Rainbow Moonstone) shows a vivid blue adularescence against a near-transparent body.
Body color: Genuine Moonstone ranges from colorless to white, gray, peach, and brown. The body of the stone should have a slightly translucent, milky quality — not perfectly transparent like glass.
Inclusions: Natural Moonstone often contains inclusions called "centipedes" — tension cracks that look like tiny centipedes within the stone. These are a reliable sign of genuine Moonstone.
Temperature: Like all feldspars, genuine Moonstone feels cool to the touch and warms slowly.
Opalite: The Most Common Moonstone Fake
Opalite is man-made glass — a milky, opalescent glass that produces a blue-white glow when held against a dark background and an orange-pink glow against a light background. It is beautiful in its own right, but it is not Moonstone. It has none of Moonstone's mineral properties and should not be sold as Moonstone.
How to distinguish Opalite from Moonstone:
- The background test: Hold the stone against a dark background, then a light background. Opalite shows a dramatic color shift (blue against dark, orange-pink against light). Genuine Moonstone shows adularescence that moves with the stone's tilt, not with the background color.
- Temperature: Opalite (glass) warms faster than genuine Moonstone (feldspar).
- Inclusions: Opalite is perfectly uniform and inclusion-free. Genuine Moonstone has natural inclusions.
- Price: Opalite is very inexpensive to produce. Genuine Moonstone with good adularescence costs significantly more.
Quality Grades
AAA (Rainbow Moonstone): Near-transparent body with vivid blue adularescence. The finest quality. Higher price.
AA: White to slightly milky body with good blue-white adularescence. Excellent for healing work.
A: More opaque body, less vivid adularescence. Effective for healing work at a lower price.
Peach/Gray Moonstone: Genuine Moonstone varieties with different body colors. Often more affordable than white/rainbow varieties.
Price Reality Check
- Opalite (glass): $1-3 per tumble stone
- A-grade Moonstone tumble stones: $5-12 each
- AA-grade Moonstone: $10-25 each
- AAA Rainbow Moonstone: $15-50+ depending on size and adularescence quality
If you're paying Opalite prices for "Moonstone," you're getting Opalite.
Questions to Ask Your Seller
- Is this genuine Moonstone or Opalite?
- What variety of Moonstone is it? (Rainbow, Peach, Gray, etc.)
- What is the country of origin? (India, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar are major sources)
Get complete buying guidance for Moonstone and 9 other essential gemstones in Your First Gemstone: The Complete Beginner's Guide to Buying Right, a 48-page instant PDF download for $12.99.
