Mineral group and gem materials
Amazonite is a microcline variety. Moonstone is a gem material; rainbow moonstone belongs with labradorite-related plagioclase, not simply orthoclase. Andesine and labradorite are plagioclase compositional names.
Keep each chapter’s scientific identity: a family, species, variety, trade label, rock and fossil are different kinds of names.
Mineral variety
Labradorite can look quiet gray until a change in angle reveals a broad blue, green or gold reflection. This optical effect, labradorescence, is part of the material's appeal in both specimens and polished jewelry.
Darla Sondrol · CC0 · Display crop
Gem material
Moonstone is valued for a billowing light that appears to float below its surface. The effect is called adularescence and can look white or bluish against a pale, gray or peach body.
Arpingstone · Public domain · Display crop
Mineral variety
Amazonite is the green-to-blue-green gem variety of microcline feldspar. White streaks or intergrowth textures can add character to a polished bead, cabochon or natural specimen.
Neil Kadrmas · CC0 · Display crop
Gem material
Sunstone is a feldspar gem name associated with warm colors and, in some material, reflective sparkle. A polished surface may reveal tiny coppery flashes rather than a uniform glow.
James St. John · CC BY 2.0 · Display crop
Series member / composition
Andesine names an intermediate composition in the albite–anorthite plagioclase series. It teaches a useful distinction between a mineral series and a familiar commercial gem label.
Mike Dennis · Public domain · Display crop
Mineral species
Orthoclase is a potassium feldspar familiar in rocks and sometimes as transparent pale gems. Its close relatives help explain why feldspar names can be more specific than color.
Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Display crop
Mineral species
Microcline is a potassium feldspar species with white, pink, green and other appearances. Amazonite is its familiar blue-green variety rather than a separate species.
Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Display crop
Mineral species
Albite is the sodium-rich end member of plagioclase feldspar. White or colorless specimens can show thin plates, blocky crystals or fine repeated surfaces.
Shannon Heinle · CC0 1.0 · Display crop
Labradorite gem material / trade name
Despite the name, rainbow moonstone is transparent labradorite-related plagioclase, not simply orthoclase moonstone. It belongs under the feldspar shelf with a cross-link to both reading paths.
جواهربازار · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Display crop
Moonstone color / trade description
Peach refers to bodycolor, not a separate feldspar species. A peach feldspar without the relevant optical effect should not be identified as moonstone by color alone.
جواهربازار · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Display crop