Sunstone Quality Factors

Color: Most sunstones have yellow, orange, or brown body color. Green is extremely rare. Small inclusions create a reddish or golden sheen on top of any body color, while larger inclusions create attractive, glittery reflections. Sunstone inclusions can be hematite, copper, or some other mineral.

Oregon sunstone is a transparent feldspar with copper inclusions. It comes colorless as well as in a wide variety of colors, including pale yellow, pink with brilliant aventurescence, orange, red, green, and blue-green. The red version is often marketed as “spinel red,” and its vivid hue—if not its hardness—rivals spinel or even ruby.

Some Oregon sunstones are either bicolor or tricolor, and a rare few display color change. Currently, the top deep green, deep red, and intensely bicolored sunstones are considered extra fine.

Cut: Sunstone is available in a wide range of shapes and sizes, from exquisite fantasy cuts for designer jewelry to precise caliber cuts for manufacturers.

Clarity: All Oregon sunstones have an extra sheen that’s caused by copper inclusions. The sheen is there even if the inclusions aren’t large enough to create actual aventurescence.

‍Carat Weight: Sunstone can be found in relatively large sizes, but most caliber-cut stones weigh one carat or less.