Sunstone | Gemstone lexicon RENÉSIM

The gemstone with adventure

overview

Mineral group: Sunstone is a little-known gemstone from the feldspar group, which also includes moonstone and labradorite.
Colour : The colour palette of sunstone is wide: yellow, orange and brown varieties are common, but green is very rare.
Cut : The cut of a sunstone is intended to particularly emphasize the shimmer of the stone.
Special feature : The sunstone has a unique optical effect: aventurescence.

Color

The most sought-after and valuable color of sunstone is spinel red. In addition to red gemstones, intense green and multi-colored variants are considered to be extremely high quality.

carat

The weight of a gemstone is given in carats (ct). One carat weighs approximately 0.2 grams. Gemstones with a higher carat number are generally more valuable. However, the color, clarity and cut also play a decisive role.

purity

Inclusions within the sunstone are very sought after. Small inclusions produce a reddish to golden shimmer. Large inclusions, on the other hand, lead to a glitter-like reflection.

cut

The cut of a sunstone depends on the gemstone. When processing, gemstone cutters try to pay attention to which type of cut particularly highlights the gemstone's shine.

Aventurescence – the lively shimmer of the sunstone

The fascinating, sunny shine of the gemstone is caused by inclusions of specially aligned, flat mineral particles. These small inclusions reflect the incoming rays of light.
Tiny inclusions in a sunstone create a reddish or golden shimmer, while larger inclusions create a beautiful glitter effect.
The name of this optical phenomenon, aventurescence, is derived from the Italian a ventura (by chance), since aventurescent mica quartz was discovered by chance in the 18th century.

occurrence of sunstone

The most important locations where sunstone is found are in the United States, Tanzania, India and Australia.

jewelry with sunstones

Are you interested in a special piece of jewelry with sunstones? We would be happy to create an individual piece of jewelry for you according to your wishes. Contact us via our contact form or by phone.