{"id":15643,"date":"2026-06-26T10:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T09:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pret-a-reporter.co.uk\/blog\/?p=15643"},"modified":"2026-06-26T10:01:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T09:01:28","slug":"chalcedony-costs-care-how-to-identify-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pret-a-reporter.co.uk\/blog\/chalcedony-costs-care-how-to-identify-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Chalcedony:\u00a0Costs, Care & How to Identify It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Wearing<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Many people have given me show-and-tells about their prized moonstone pieces. Usually what happens is that I admire the pieces and their stories. But I tell them that it’s not moonstone that they have. Most often it’s labradorite or chalcedony. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, apart from sales people misinforming their customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you look at the earrings that eerily match my dress in the images, it is easy to assume that they’re moonstone due to their adularescence. But they are the most classic tone of blue chalcedony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’ve never heard of chalcedony, don’t worry. You have. If agate, jasper, onyx, bloodstone or carnelian ring any bells – they’re all types of chalcedony. So let’s talk about this semi-precious gemstone and all of its hues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is chalcedony?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let’s start with the basics. How do you actually pronounce chalcedony? While you’ve probably heard a whole plethora of variants, it is actually pronounced kal-SEH-duh-nee<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, made out of intergrowths or quartz and moganite. This creates a dense mass that looks semi-translucent with a waxy luster, which is quite different to what we traditionally think of when it comes to quartz. That is because of the moganite intergrowths (by the way, I did not misspell morganite<\/a><\/em>, that’s something different). Moganite actually has the same chemical composition as quartz, but its crystal structure differs. The two together create chalcedony and its entire colour family, making it a quartz variety, but also not quite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hues include waxy whites, grays, greens and blues, and I’ll stop here because chalcedony can come in any colour if heat treated or dyed, which it often is. The blue variety is especially desirable as it has that same enchanting glow called adularescence as a moonstone. On Mohs scale of hardness, chalcedony floats between 6-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the names chalcedony types?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It can get confusing to think of chalcedony and all of its varieties. But let me try to make it easier. If chalcedony is Reddit, the varieties are Subreddits. If we think of other gemstones that have a similar family tree, think of garnet as the general term, and pyrope and tsavorite as types of garnets known for their specific hues. Beryl can sing a similar song, where emerald is green beryl, and morganite is pink beryl. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this out of the way, what are the types of chalcedony?<\/p>\n\n\n\n