Who needs Diamonds when you have moissanite?

 Moissanite is a fairly new addition to the world of gemstones, having only been discovered as recently as 1906. Henri Moissan was a Nobel Prize winner who discovered an amount of naturally occurring silicon carbide around a meteorite impact site at the turn of the previous century. Many people believe that the compound comes from space, but sadly the truth is far less dramatic. Silicon carbide occurs naturally in several places around the world and can be recreated in a laboratory. This makes the compound far less rare than the space origin fans would like to believe.

So what is the big deal with moissanite?

Many couples are turning to moissanite for their proposal and wedding rings. There are several reasons for this. Not only are moissanites comparable in toughness, colour, shape and radiance to diamonds, they also have a far higher sparkle value and come at a much lower price. Let's be clear at this point that moissanite is not an artificial diamond. It is a unique and significant gemstone and its own night. Its enormous reflective properties are one of its most distinguishing features and is the secret ingredient that gives it a greater brilliance than that of a diamond. Moissanite is also known for giving off a rainbow coloured refraction, whereas a diamond's refraction is white. Although this comes down to personal taste, many people are drawn to moissanite for this reason.

Is a moissanite gemstone expensive?

When it comes to cost by weight ratio, you will find that you can get a much larger moissanite stone for the same price of a fairly small diamond. This makes moissanite a great choice for those who are shopping on a budget. Because moissanite is produced in a laboratory and are made of a far more readily available compound than diamonds, the price tag is significantly lowered. Far from being a cheap diamond replacement, moissanite holds its own in the world of jewels and gemstones, and can be as much of a family heirloom to be passed down across several generations as a diamond might have been.

When you buy a cheaper moissanite ring you are also buying stone with no ethical baggage. Diamonds are commonly associated with the blood diamond trade. This relates to unethical mining practices, the underpayment of miners and the destruction of the environment for mining purposes. Purchasing a moissanite is an excellent way of getting all the aesthetics with none of the ethical considerations.

How do I select the perfect moissanite?

Much like diamonds moissanites are coded  according to colour. The gold standard of moissanite is known as the forever brilliant. This stone is 100% colorless and is closest in appearance to a diamond. There are several other colour tints available across the spectrum and these colour qualities are graded according to letters of the alphabet. Dtf represents the colorless group where semi coloured stones for between g and I. Finally, J&K represent Stones that fall within the color-coded category.