Moissanite

Moissanite is a lab-created colorless to near-colorless, extremely durable jewel with brilliance and fire that outshines even diamonds. It is a popular alternative to more expensive diamonds. It has a hardness of 9.25, harder than sapphires and emeralds and only topped by diamonds.  Unlike diamonds, which are carbon, Moissanites are silicon carbide (SiC), a very rare, naturally occurring mineral found primarily in meteors.

Commercially available moissanites are always lab created. In the last years moissanites have made a huge improvement and in addition to the near colorless moissanites, there are now truly colorless moissanite options available that get a color grading similar to a D to F color Diamond.

Until 2016 the only moissanites I used were made by Charles & Colvard, the original maker of moissanites based in North Carolina. Their patent expired in 2015 prompting new moissanite makers to bring out their own moissanite innovations. I started also offering Supernova™ moissanites by Moissanite International out of Sydney Australia and Stuller moissanites made in the US. Both are colorless to near-colorless moissanites similar to the Forever One™ by Charles & Colvard, but usually run slightly cheaper than the near-colorless Forever One Moissanites.

Charles & Colvard's Forever Classics were the original moissanites with a J-K color grading. In my option their warm color nuance looked great in colored metals like yellow and rose gold. Forever Classic and Forever Brilliant moissanites are discontinued and current stock only available until it sells out.

Colorless Forever One Moissanite with a color grading of D to F were introduced in 2015. Forever One moissanites are being made available in 2 grades: a near-colorless GHI grading and a colorless DEF graded one. The near-colorless Forever One moissanite is more concistent in it's color grading than the previously Forever Brilliant stones were, especially when it comes to fancy cut shapes.

Forever One moissanites and Stuller moissanites are all cut precisely to maximize brilliance.

Please note that all Forever One moissanites come with a Certificate of Authenticity and limited warranty by Charles & Colvard. Stuller moissanites do not come with any certificates or warranties for the moissanite.

Cushion Moissanites in sunlight: Forever 1 ( left colorless, middle near-colorless) vs Supernova (right side)

 Can you spot the difference between a moissanite and diamond? Check out the video below. They look almost identical. 

Top: 5mm colorless Forever One moissanite vs a 0.55ct/5.25mm H/SI1 excellent cut diamond on the bottom

Selecting the right size of moissanite for your ring:

It is more common to refer to moissanite sizes using actual dimensions in mm instead of using carat weight more commonly used with diamond sales.

Carats are a measure of weight. Two gemstones of the same weight does not necessarily correspond to two stones with the same dimensions. Some sites list moissanites with diamond equivalent weights, some list the actual moissanite weight. I use actual moissanite weight in my listings.

A diamond and a moissanite of same cut, shape and dimensions will not weight the same. Moissanite's gravity is about 13% lower then diamonds. Moissanites they are typically a bit lighter than a diamond of same size dimension. A diamond's actual dimension can vary widely depending how the stone is cut. Some diamonds are cut shallower, some have more depth. More depth means more weight, but not a bigger diamond if viewed from the top. For instance a 2ct round diamond can measure anywhere between 7.5mm to 8.5mm. Two 2ct diamonds seen next to each other can look very different in size. The faceting and cutting of moissanites is regulated by Charles and Colvard for the Forever stones and by Moissanite international for the Supernova moissanites. They are all cut to the ideal dimensions to bring out the maximum sparkle and fire. Commercially available Moissanites don't show the same size variation diamonds can have.

That's why moissanite are better described in mm sizes instead of weight. In my opinion all gemstones should be rather described in actual dimensions and not just weight, which can vary too much from stone to stone. After all in the end what you see is the actual dimension of the stone and not the weight of it.

Care for your moissanite:

Moissanite are rated “excellent” for everyday wear. Due to their Moh's hardness of 9.25 they are very scratch resistant but can be scratched by diamonds. Avoid any hard knocks as they can be damaged  and chipped.  Avoid exposure to heat and contact with chemicals. To clean, gently scrub with a soft toothbrush and a solution of mild dish soap and warm water, rinse well and dry with a lint free cloth. Or clean in an at-home ultrasonic unit. More jewelry care info is available here.