Spotlight On Moissanite

QUICK HISTORY OF A SPACE ROCK

When Henri Moissan first noticed minute traces of the mineral silicon carbide in 1893, he understandably mistook them for tiny diamond crystals in his rock samples. That wouldn’t be such a strange thing to find, considering he was examining samples collected from the Canyon Diablo crater, the site of a massive meteorite strike in Arizona. It wasn’t until years later that Moissan would take a second look and realize that what he’d discovered weren’t diamonds at all—but something entirely new, rare, and exciting.

In fact, moissanite is so rare that for fifty years after its discovery many scientists, geologists, and gemologists doubted it existed in nature at all. The only traces of it that anyone had been able to find were from other meteorites—earning the gem the nickname “stardust” because it was literally from outer space. Even when it was later determined to be naturally occurring after all, it could only be found in such miniscule amounts that it was by far rarer, and more precious than diamonds.

Today, natural moissanite is still extremely rare—but the beauty of the stone has inspired man’s endless innovation. Lab-created moissanite is now available and prized for both its dazzle and durability, and we think it’s stunning.

WHY MOISSANITE?

Moissanite has a whole lot going for it. First, our moissanite always has a clarity grade of at least VS— meaning it will have zero visible flaws, ever. Many gems, including diamonds, sapphires, and others, often have inclusions or flaws that are visible to the naked eye. And while that’s not the end of the world, those flaws can really affect the stone’s brilliance and fire—so the better the clarity, the more sparkle.

And if sparkle is what you’re looking for, moissanite has you covered. It has 10% more “brilliance,” or sparkle than a diamond—meaning it outshines them every time. If you like a little more flash with that sparkle, moissanite also has over twice the “fire” of a diamond—2.4x more, to be exact—which is the measurement of how much the light refracts and bounces through the stone like a prism. The big difference is that diamonds have a white-light fire, while moissanite’s fire throws more of a rainbow effect. It just depends on which you prefer.

But what about durability, you ask? The reason we choose moissanite for our sterling silver jewelry is because it’s incredibly tough. While just about everyone knows that diamonds are the hardest mineral known to man (at a 10.0 on the Mohs scale), moissanite comes in a close second at 9.25. That makes it harder than rubies, sapphires or emeralds. So not only can it withstand everyday wear and tear, it will last a lifetime without the brilliance ever fading. To top it off, moissanite attracts less dust and grease than other gemstones, so will look great longer between cleanings.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking of moissanite as a diamond alternative—yes, they’re both clear, colorless gems with a lot of sparkle—but moissanite is not just a faux diamond. While comparisons between them may be inevitable, we think moissanite is an outstanding gemstone in its own right, and are proud of the quality and beauty of every stone we set into our sterling silver.