Jewelry | Megan Kirkwood

The Magic of Moonstone

While Moonstone may sound like something that’s found in space (or at least in a meteorite) it’s actually the most well-known member of the feldspar mineral family, which also includes Amazonite and Sunstone.

Moonstone’s most famous trait is its adularescence, which makes it a phenomenal gem, similar to Opal or Star Sapphire. While Opals display play-of-colour, Moonstone’s phenomena is a misty glow that makes the surface of the gem appear to glow. It’s a unique effect, usually seen in a blue hue, that rolls across the gem depending on angle you view it at. Appropriately, the original name for Moonstone was actually “Adularia,” which came from a city in Switzerland, Mount Adular, which was one of the first sources of the best quality Moonstones.

The most valued type of Moonstone is transparent, colourless, eye-clean, and features a vivid blue adularescence. In some cases, adularescence can also feature striking rainbow colours. It’s also possible for Moonstone to exhibit other phenomenal effects, including asterism, like Star Sapphires, and chatoyancy, like Cat’s Eye gems. If that wasn’t versatile enough, they can also be found in a wide variety of colours, including white, yellow, brown, grey and black. They’re most often cut into beads or cabochons, however they can also be carved into various shapes and cameos, including popular face of the moon designs.

Its beautiful colours and special effects have always ensured Moonstone’s wide fanbase, especially as one of the birthstones for June. However, it was particularly popular during the Art Nouveau period (1880-1915) including the Arts and Crafts movement, and again in the 1960s. The seemingly mystical and watercolour-like stone was perfect for the dreamy and romantic jewels of the time with floral and astrological themes, including those by late 19^th century designers such as René Lalique and Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Like many gems, the best qualities of Moonstone are often found in Sri Lanka, however other sources include India and Myanmar. Moonstone is a 6-6.5 on the Mohs Hardness Scale, making it a softer gem that should be worn and stored with care in order to avoid scratches and cleavage (splitting), especially when wearing it in a ring. Overall, Moonstone is a lovely dream of a gemstone with mystical qualities which have been appreciated throughout history. Regardless if you have a June birthday or not, it’s an excellent addition to any gem lover’s collection.

Pantone Colour of the Year 2022: Very Peri

Be ready to fall for Very Peri, an optimistic hue to start the new year

For over 20 years, the Pantone Colour Institute has released their colour of the year, based on a mind-bending collection of global research. To arrive at the lucky hue, experts examine a number of influential factors, including fashion and textile trends, new artists and exhibits, popular travel destinations, technological developments, film and other forms of entertainment in productions, social media platforms, upcoming sporting events, socio-economic and political conditions, home furnishing, product packaging, and really, all other matters of design.

For 2022, the Institute has named a completely new colour, which they’ve dubbed Very Peri—undoubtedly a play on periwinkle blue. While institute says the colour is considered part of the blue family (which is often used to communicated stability) but with a violet-red undertone, it is clear that this shade is in fact, purple!

According to Pantone, the choice represents an “altered landscape of possibilities, opening us up to a new vision as we rewrite our lives. Rekindling gratitude for some of the qualities that blue represents complemented by a new perspective that resonates today, Very Peri places the future ahead in a new light.” Clearly inspired by the world’s hopes and optimism for finally putting the daily worries of the pandemic and overall isolation behind us, other inspirations for the shade include the growth of digital art and design, including the rise of NFTs, the new “dynamic virtual world” (hello, Metaverse), gaming trends, and the overall fusion of the colours of our physical world with those we see on-screen.

If all these ideas of a new, virtual world have you feeling a bit lost, the good news is that the colour Purple, while perhaps a bit polarizing for some, is undoubtedly imbued with a feeling of fun, vibrancy, and overall frivolity and richness. After all, it’s a symbol of royalty and rarity, and also can be seen as the coming together of two distinct colour families: red and blue.

It’s a refreshing symbol of optimism for the future that is much welcomed, especially when you consider the shades forecasted by the institute in recent years, including a very industrial-sque pairing of grey and yellow, and a basic, banker’s blue.

Of course, we think the most exciting part of Very Peri, is how it will translate to our jewellery boxes! After years of blue and pink gems dominating the market, a return to purple feels fun again. While Amethysts, which were once considered of the rarest and most-sought after gems will likely come back into fashion in a big way (look for all saturations to return to glory, from a pale lavender to the richest purple), we also have our eye on Purple Sapphires, which have been extremely uncommon in the past if only because they were in the shadow of their royal blue counterparts, as well of course, for Kunzites and Tanzanites. Both are a rarity in the gem world, which customers are clicking to more and more in order to add massive future value to their collections, with Tanzanite in particular likely to soon ride a new wave of fame, thanks to their limited availability (with only once source, many experts agree they are likely to disappear altogether in the near future.)

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