Hardness: 6.00
Refractive Index: 1.54-1.55
Specific Gravity: 2.65
Birthstone:
Astral Stone:
Anniversary Stone:
Origination: The former Russia, Norway, Canada & the United States, particularly the state of Oregon.
Care & cleaning: To clean, rub lightly with a soft polishing cloth. An optional dab of olive oil will produce a beautiful shine. If necessary, a plain water rinse may also be used. Do not soak.
Fiction, Facts & Folklore:
Sunstone is a gem quality oligoclase, part of the feldspar mineral group.
Sunstone is also known as �aventurine�, which causes many consumers to confuse it with aventurine quartz.
It is usually bronze to rust and often contains tiny specks of metal inclusions that can be red, orange, golden, silver or green.
This sparkling effect is sometimes known as �aventuresence�.
In order to show its� eye-appealing sparkle, sunstone is generally either cut flat or en cabochon.
In certain instances, sunstone can also be found in crystal form.
For years, sunstone was a little-known gem due to rather inconsistent manufacturing and supply methods. However, the new millennium has given way to a more aggressive marketing effort. Someday soon, sunstone will take its rightful position in the gemstone marketplace.
Goldstone, a man made glass with inclusions of copper, is sometimes passed off to unsuspecting consumers as sunstone.