Feldspar Beads
Feldspar beads are cut from the most common mineral group in the Earth's crust, a family that includes amazonite, sunstone, moonstone, labradorite, larvikite and graphic feldspar. Each member gets its look from a different trace element or internal structure. This collection holds every feldspar we stock, from Peruvian amazonite to graphic feldspar, in a range of finishes and shapes for bracelets, necklaces and earrings.
Appearance
Amazonite is opaque turquoise green to pale mint, often with white streaks. Sunstone is peach to orange with glittering copper-colored flecks. Moonstone is milky white with a blue or white sheen, labradorite gray with flashes of blue, green and gold, and larvikite near-black with a silvery shimmer. Graphic feldspar is cream to beige feldspar cut through with gray quartz in angular marks that resemble ancient script, which is why it is also called hieroglyphic stone.
All feldspars sit at 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale, a step below quartz, and all split along 2 cleavage directions, so a hard knock can chip a bead. They resist water and lotion without trouble. A polished finish is needed to show the sheen in moonstone, labradorite and sunstone; a matte finish suits amazonite and graphic feldspar, where pattern matters more than flash. Faceted cuts scatter the sheen into separate points of light.
Formation and origin
Feldspars are aluminum silicates of potassium, sodium and calcium that crystallize from cooling magma and make up roughly 60 percent of the crust. The showiest varieties come from pegmatites and slow-cooled intrusions, where crystals grew large. Amazonite is colored by lead and water in microcline, sunstone by hematite or copper platelets, and moonstone and labradorite by thin layers of 2 feldspars that scatter light. Graphic feldspar grew at the same time as quartz, the 2 minerals interlocking in a script-like pattern. Sources include Peru, Brazil, India, Madagascar and Norway.
Pairings
Amazonite beads: the family's turquoise green, matched in hardness, so mixed strands wear evenly.
Labradorite beads: the gray flash member of the family, a cool contrast to amazonite and sunstone.
Moonstone beads: white sheen against the beige of graphic feldspar or the green of amazonite.
Lore and Meaning
Feldspar takes its name from the German Feldspat, field spar, most likely because the mineral was so common in the rocks of open fields. Its members carry older stories: amazonite was set into jewelry in ancient Egypt and the Tutankhamun treasures, moonstone was worn in Rome as a stone of the moon, and labradorite entered Inuit legend as trapped northern lights. In crystal traditions the family as a whole is associated with intuition and new beginnings. These are traditional beliefs, not claims of physical effect.
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