Discover the Birthstones for June Pearls, Moonstone, and Alexandrite

 

June has three traditional birthstones: pearls, moonstone, and Alexandrite. Unlike most gems, pearls have organic origins, being created in certain kinds of mollusks. Although they can be found naturally, most commercial pearl sources are cultured in oyster farms.

The substance which makes up a pearl is mostly aragonite, a soft carbonate mineral. Pearls have a delicate translucence making them a popular gemstone. The pearl is created when a grain of sand or rock fragment gets inside the clam or oyster. It irritates the animal which responds by coating the offending grain with layer after layer of shell material. Pearls formed in the inside surface of the shell are usually irregular in shape and of little value.

Pearls formed within the tissue of the animal itself, result in a spherical or pear shaped pearl. The color of the pearl depends on what species of animal it forms in, and the environment in which it was created. White is the most common color, but pearls can also be found in shades of black, cream, gray, blue, yellow, lavender and green.

The Meetiyagoda moonstone mine, where primitive, and often dangerous, working conditions allow beautiful blue moonstones to be extracted from gravel 50 feet down the mineshaft.

 

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