Diamonds have held a monopoly over the engagement world for centuries, and until recently, it’s been inconceivable to consider anything other than a glistening diamond taking pride of place in an engagement ring. But think about it – is it an expectation you have because of what you’ve been taught, or could diamonds possibly be the only option we have?
Of course not! The world is constantly changing and evolving, and with that comes the development of more options and improvements on the way things have always been. One of these, is the rise of moissanite as a stone to replace diamonds. Not only is it competitive to diamonds in hardness, durability and price, it also offers an even greater brilliance than diamonds. Believe it or not, moissanite is here to stay. Here’s why.
Where did it come from all of a sudden?
Moissanite has been around for longer than you might realise. Henri Moissan, a French scientist who specialised as a pharmacist, was the first to discover this revolutionary material. Because his discovery was made in the vicinity of a meteorite crash site, a rather interesting urban legend developed, in which moissanite is believed to have its origins in outer space. Romantic as this notion might be, the reality is that compound that makes up moissanite, namely silicon carbide, is naturally found on earth.
Some experimentation led to the discovery that raw silicon carbide can be processed into a jewel of significant strength, radiance and brilliance, which would, over time, give the traditional diamond a run for its money!
Moissanite is finally stepping into its full potential, and its benefits are enormous.
Moissanite brings all the good stuff to the table
Those who have fallen in love with moissanite sing its praises over diamonds time and again. Most of its features and charateristics are similar to, if not indistinguishable from those of a diamond, but at a far lower price tag. Far from being a cheap knock-off or inferior substitute, such as the likes of cubic zirconia, moissanite diamonds are fully-fledged jewels in its own right, making it a solid replacement where you might expect a diamond. Although they are visually similar (although a moissanite is much brighter – but more on this later) the two stones are not related to each other in any way.
How to select a moissanite for your purposes
As with diamonds, moissanite can be found a range of tints across the spectrum, and similar to diamonds, the degree of tint which is present in a stone affects its value. Colourless is the gold standard, and carries the highest monetary value. The second highest value belongs to stones in the D-E-F colour range, which is almost, but not completely colourless. G-H-I is the next category, while stones with a yellowish tint lie at the bottom of the range. The good news is that unless you are an expert, or very hung up or perfection, the variations are seldom visible to the naked eye.
