For women who have an attraction to a little bit of bling, diamonds have been the answer for many decades, if not indeed centuries! Despite its record time in the lead position of the jewellery business, the reign of the diamond appears to be reaching its end. People are looking for cheaper alternatives, as many are beginning to follow the mindset that spending a lot of money on a item as stagnant as a rock is considered to be in poor taste.
What then are the alternatives? A glass diamond? Lab-grown? Second hand? Of course, these are options. Glass, or worse – plastic diamonds are considered tacky. Lab-grown diamonds are feasible, but still extortionately expensive. Second hand diamonds come with a story, but their origins are still likely to have been ethically questionable. Enter the moissanite, a heavy-weight jewel that is comparable to diamonds in almost every way, but which does not bear any links to environmental destruction, greed, corruption and conflict.
No, Moissanites are NOT diamond replicas!
You may have started doing some research into moissanite, and come across people dismissing it as a fake diamond. Nothing could be further from the truth. While moissanite is 100% lab-generated, it can only be produced and sold under very specific licensing, and is not readily available as a diamond substitute. Its physical resemblance and similarities to diamonds happen to make it an excellent substitute, but it is an entirely individual jewel in its own right.
Almost like a diamond, just different
The Mohs scale is used to rate the hardness of a gemstone. Diamonds score a ten, while moissanite comes in at 9.5. This difference is negligible, and what it means in practical application, is that moissanite wears and tears, and can be handled and processed exactly as a diamond can be. But carat for carat, moissanite engagement rings costs much less, and you can get far more stone for the money spent on it. Are you starting to see why moissanite is so special?
Another excellent aspect about Moissanite is its double-refraction properties. This means that moissanite gives off twice the amount of light that it takes in, giving it an extraordinary “shine quality”. This is the field where moissanite beats diamonds – diamonds are only single refractive, and surprisingly, quite dull when compared to moissanite!
An interesting background
The first discovery of what we have come to know as moissanite was near the site of a meteorite impact, way back in the 1800s. This gave rise to speculation that the stone has its origins in outer space. As exciting as that may have been, it is sadly not true. Moissanite is made up of silicon carbide, which, although rare, is found on earth. Moissanite as we know it in jewellery shops is produced (under license, of course) in a lab, by recreating this magic compound. This factor is what makes moissanite more affordable and more ethical than diamonds, by cutting out the environmental impact, layout, and conflict.