Moissanite

The term moissanite refers to the mineral, silicon carbide. Moissanite was named in honor of Dr. Henri Moissan who in 1893, discovered the natural mineral in a meteorite located in Arizona, USA. It turns out that naturally occurring moissanite is very scarce and the only way to have more quantities available was to synthetically produce it.

Today, moissanite is best known as moissanite gemstones or synthetic diamond substitute. The company, Charles & Colvard, developed the method to produce moissanite and is now the exclusive manufacturer of moissanite gemstones.

Moissanite vs. Diamond
There are many articles written about the subject of moissanite vs real diamonds. It is important to first understand the properties indices of moissanite. In terms of brilliance or refractive index, moissanite is slightly higher than diamond. In terms of fire or dispersion, moissanite is over twice that of diamond. Moissanite is slightly less hard than diamond and is not as colorless as diamonds when the gem is in a larger size.

So what does all this mean to the consumer? Basically moissanite is very similar to real diamonds from a properties index point of view. Moissanite sparkles a bit more and costs much less, about a 1/10 the price of diamonds at $500 to $600 a carat. In situations where you want to wear a very expensive diamond to a public gathering, it might be more advantageous to wear a moissanite gemstone instead. A moissanite gemstone will probably never replace a diamond as one is synthetically grown and the other is naturally occurring. However, the similarities in the properties indices of moissanite to diamonds enable the gemstone to be used in place of diamond in many situations. Ultimately, people buy moissanite because they like moissanite, not because they really wanted a diamond and are settling for something else. Many movie stars also choose to wear moissanite in public gatherings for the high sparkle.

Buying Moissanite
When shopping for moissanite make sure that you look at the gemstone under various lights to see if there is a color. Some popular moissanite jewelry include moissanite engagement rings, wedding rings and earrings. Larger moissanite gemstones may exhibit a slight shade of green. Do your research as there are many deals on the Internet. Make sure to ask that you can verify if you are getting authentic moissanite jewelry.