Florida State Gemstone or Gem

Moonstone

(KAlSi₃O₈ - Potassium Aluminium Silicate)

Adopted on May 20, 1970.

On May 20, 1970, Florida lawmakers passed and sent to the Governor a bill adopting the moonstone, (KAlSi3O8 - Potassium Aluminium Silicate,) as Florida official State Gem to commemorate the landing of U.S. astronauts on the moon. Apollo 11 had blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County, it came as no coincidence that the State Legislature sought to memorialize America's unprecedented international, scientific and technological triumph.

Ironically, the moonstone is not found naturally in Florida... nor was it found on the moon.

Moonstone: Florida State Gemstone or Gem

Moonstone is a sodium potassium aluminium silicate, with the chemical formula (Na,K)AlSi₃O₈. Its name is derived from a visual effect, or sheen, caused by light diffraction within a microstructure consisting of a regular succession of feldspar layers. The most common moonstone is of the mineral adularia. The plagioclase feldspar oligoclase also produces moonstone specimens. Moonstone is feldspar with a pearly and opalescent luster. An alternative name is hecatolite.

Moonstones come in a variety of colors. The body color can range from colorless to gray, brown, yellow, green, or pink. The clarity ranges from transparent to translucent. The best moonstone has a blue sheen, perfect clarity, and a colorless body color. It is often worn in rings, pendants or bead necklaces.

Colors: Colorless, white, yellow, orange, and gray. It always has a white or blue sheen.

Sources of moonstone: There are two moonstones. Adularia moonstone is an almost transparent pale gray or silvery white or blue shimmer. It is mainly found in Sri Lanka, Burma, India and Madagascar. Albite moonstone is in the feldspar group. It is semitransparent with a pale, shimmering reflection. It may be a little dull. It comes mainly from Canada.

JUNE Birthstone: Moonstone:

The third birthstone for June is the Moonstone. It was given its name by the Roman natural historian Pliny, who wrote that moonstone's appearance altered with the phases of the moon - a belief that held until well after the sixteenth century.

Moonstone has been used in jewelry for centuries, including ancient civilizations. The Romans admired moonstone, as they believed it was born from solidified rays of the moon. Both the Romans and Greeks associated Moonstone with their lunar deities. In more recent history, the moonstone became popular during the Art Nouveau period; French goldsmith Ren?Lalique and many others created a large quantity of jewelry using this stone.

A phenomenal gemstone, moonstones show a floating play of light (called adularescence) and sometimes show either a multirayed star or a cat's eye. Considered a sacred stone in India, moonstones often are displayed on a background of yellow (a sacred color) and are believed to encapsulate within the stone a spirit whose purpose is to bring good fortune. Part of the family of minerals called feldspar, moonstone occurs in many igneous and metamorphic rocks and comes in a variety of colors such as green, blue, peach, and champagne.

Moonstone Gemstone Meaning

Moonstone is a highly valued gemstone for these reasons:

Brings good fortune
Assists in foretelling the future
Enhances intuition
Promotes inspiration
Brings success in love as well as business matters
Offers protection on land and at sea

The moonstone, a good luck stone, is associated with the moon and was the stone of the goddess Diana. The most powerful time to use the moonstone is in a full moon. When worn as an amulet, it bring good emotions to the wearer, protecting those of a sensitive nature, and reuniting lovers who have quarreled.

Moonstone is a very personal stone, and is a reflection of the person who owns it, not add ingor detracting, only showing how it is,and why the moonstone is said to perceive that which "is".

Healing properties of Moonstone

Moonstone is used by healers to stimulate the functioning of the pineal gland and balance internal hormone cycles with nature's rhythms. Moonstone is a stone of inner growth and strength. Though often considered to be a woman's stone, it can be beneficial to men in opening the emotional self.

Florida Law

The law designating the moonstone as the official Florida state gem is found in the 2000 Florida Statutes Title IV (EXECUTIVE BRANCH)  Chapter 15 (SECRETARY OF STATE) Section 15.034

Title IV
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Chapter 15
SECRETARY OF STATE

15.034 State gem.
The moonstone, a transparent or translucent feldspar of pearly or opaline luster, is hereby designated the Florida state gem.

History.- s. 1, ch. 70-53.