The minerals in the feldspar family make up more than half of the Earth's rocky crust. Occasionally these common minerals form crystals that shimmer like the light of the moon or a rainbow on a soap bubble. Called iridescence, this phenomenon is caused by light scattering, or diffracting, off closely spaced layers in the feldspar crystals. The gems cut from these iridescent crystals are called moonstone, sunstone, and labradorite. The Feldspar Butterfly has a 10.02 carat rainbow moonstone from Madagascar as the body, the tail is a 2.04 carat moonstone from Austria, and the head is a 1.50 carat sunstone from Oregon. The wings have 8.72 carats of rainbow moonstone from Madagascar. There are also 8.54 carats of colored sunstone rounds from Oregon and Namibia (green). The 18k yellow gold Feldspar Butterfly is part of a collection of 18 jeweled butterfly brooches created and designed by Elvis "Buzz" Gray and Bernadine Johnston. The butterflies were gifted to the National Gem Collection by the Smithsonian Gem and Mineral Collectors.
