How to make the best Choice between Lapis Lazuli and Moonstone?
Learn to make the best choice between Lapis Lazuli and moonstone jewelry with Rananjay Exports.
1. Colour
The mesmerizing colours of the mundane Lapis Lazuli stone is usually determined by the quality of the stone as well as the place from where its is originated.
Basically, you will find Lapis Lazuli across the shades of blue to green often.
Lapis Lazuli colour variety ranges from green to Robin blue to dark blue to so many others which is the reason it is one of the most desirable and famous gemstones.
On the contrary to it, the most prominent and obvious hue of moonstone jewelry in the market comes with an ethereal bluish sheen, often complemented with a milky to whitish surface and crystal-clear beauty.
The various hues of moonstone jewelry play a potent role in bringing the unparalleled beauty and charm of this marvelous stone to the limelight. Some amazingly alluring colours of moonstone are:
2. Clarity
When viewed from a favorable angle, every specimen of Lapis Lazuli would lend a slightly opaque to semi-translucent appearance.
Nevertheless, there would be hardly any such instances wherein you would stumble across a piece that would be transparent and free of inclusions.
The main reason, the natural formation of Lapis Lazuli is bound to attract some sort of impurities and inclusions, like tiny minerals to its crystal which usually get trapped within the stone over the years of its formation. However, the cloudy appearance as a result of these impurities doesn’t compromise beauty or elegance.
In some rare cases when you come across the most sort-after and finest pieces of Lapis Lazuli stone, you would be bewildered to see how the crystal-clear brilliance of Lapis Lazuli would captivate your eyes and lend a mesmerizing beauty.
The moving light alongside the vibrant crystal would make that moment worthy to witness.
For the mystical moonstone, which has been epitomized as an embodiment of the moonstone, and the “June Birthstone”, the clarity can range from being completely transparent to opaque. With a sudden spike in the variations across the jewelry, semi-translucent specimens are also becoming quite popular.
The specimens that promise the best grading and quality are usually the ones that would be rare to exist.
These would have a highly crystal-clear surface that would be not completely transparent, but still, satisfactory enough to leave you awestruck.
3. Luster
For turquoise, the luster could vary from being waxy to vitreous. This alluring appearance of luster that compliments the beauty plays a potent role in highlighting the charm and elegance of turquoise.
The hues of turquoise, as well as its shining and shimmering surface, get 10x stunning and sizzling when that exquisite luster comes into play.
For the mystic and mysterious moonstone, a shimmering and iridescent effect can be found playing on its surface, which is often referred to as moonstone luster.
In addition to it, a highly charming and unique optical phenomenon can be found on the surface of this feldspar stone, deemed as adolescence.
Adularescence is a colorful, organic visual phenomenon that resembles the moon’s shimmering appearance on a clear night. Its name is taken from the mineralogist term “adularia,” which refers to moonstone. A gem exhibits adularescence when it emits a beautiful light that seems to float under its surface.
4. Hardness and Durability
A foremost concern for jewelry enthusiasts could be that while hunting for exquisite and alluring pieces of turquoise, they would have to digest the uncomfortable truth that it only has a hardness of around 5-6 on the Mohs scale of hardness.
This implies that a sudden bang with any other stone or against a wall or concrete surface can cause severe breakage or damage to that close-to-heart Lapis Lazuli gemstone.
More sensitive ornaments like rings and earrings should be handled with more concern as they are more vulnerable to getting such shocks and clashes.
Like turquoise, moonstone jewelry is a softer and delicate piece of gemstone jewelry with a not-so-satisfying point of 6.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness.
5. Affordability
If you are ready to invest a huge chunk of money to get a raging and beautiful gem, then go for turquoise.
A relatively expensive and valuable stone, the basic price of Lapis Lazuli revolves around $1000-$10,000 in the market.
On the other hand, the market price of moonstone is quite affordable. Starting from $10 per carat too close to $1000 for every caret.