What is Moissanite?
Moissanite is the gemstone from the stars. It was first discovered in 1893 by a French scientist, Henri Moissan. Initially believing the stones to be diamonds, Moissan discovered particles of the gem in a crater from a meteor that had crashed to earth in Arizona. Upon this discovery, the stone of the stars was named Moissanite.
As you may now realize, natural moissanite is incredibly rare and now most commonly created in labs. After many years of trial and error, the particles Moissan discovered were successfully synthesized to produce what is now one of the world’s most brilliant and sought after gemstones.
Moissanite, occasionally referred to as a diamond simulant, is engineered to give the illusion of all the qualities of diamonds, but is compositionally quite different.
Chemical Compound - While Moissanites and Diamonds appear very similar their chemical compounds are very different. Diamonds, whether grown in a lab or mined, are always carbon to the core. Moissanite is a different chemical compound known as Silicon Carbide.
Hardness - Gemstones are measured on the Mohs scale of hardness. This scale assesses a gemstone's ability to with stand cracking and scratching. The scale is ranked from a 1 (softest) to a 10 (hardest).
Brilliance - Brilliance is the appearance of light reflected from within the gemstone. Moissanite is the most brilliant stone on earth with a fiery rainbow appearance in direct sunlight. This gives a "disco ball" effect with an extreme amount of sparkle. Diamonds however reflect light in 3 ways. The first is a white light called "brilliance." The second is a rainbow of colors known as "dispersion," and the third is the surface sparkle of a diamond. These three in combination are what create the "Diamond look."
Price - Diamonds come in a very wide range of prices depending on the 4 C's (Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat). This range can be very expensive and usually results in people making a compromise of some sort in order to maintain their budget. Moissanite is extremely affordable and can be of excellent quality for a much more affordable price tag.
Sourcing - Both diamonds and moissanites can occur naturally or be grown in laboratories. Diamonds are found naturally within the earth and are mined to be made into jewelry. In lab form, diamonds are grown from a fragment of carbon making them a much more ethical option for buyers. Moissanite naturally comes from meteors and is very rare. This results in most moissanite being grown in laboratories making them a very sustainable and ethical choice.