Moissanite vs. Diamonds
When observed with the naked eye, diamonds and moissanite can be difficult to tell apart. Moissanite was invented to compete with diamonds, whose reputation have taken a severe beating for the toll the procuring process takes on the environment and the human rights abuses that often occur in mining industry. When it comes to quality, however, some complain that a moissanite's heightened brilliance creates a gaudy, "disco ball" effect, and that when viewed in sunlight, it takes on an unattractive greenish or gray cast. Does this Spark an idea?
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Strength
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The diamond remains the hardest element on Earth. It rates a 10 on the Mohrs scale, the industry standard for measuring gem strength. Moissanite is second at 9.25.
Fire
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Fire refers to a gem's ability to disperse white light into spectrum colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). Exclusive moissanite manufacturer Charles & Colvard (see Resouces) says its stone's fire has a dispersion of 0.104, which is almost 2.4 times higher than a diamond.
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Brilliance
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Brilliance refers to how well a stone reflects white light, Charles & Colvard puts moissanite at a refractive index of 2.65-2.69 and the diamond at 2.42.
Girdle
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A girdle is the edge that encircles the crown of a cut stone. Gridles are usually not polished on a diamond, but they are always polished on a moissanite.
Color
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According to Diamond Nexus Labs, it is not possible to create a pure white moissanite, which can appear slightly green or gray. Although very rare, pure white diamonds do exist. Many of the clear diamonds that people wear can have a yellowish cast.
Cost
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Diamond Nexus Labs estimates moissanite costs about $525 per carat. Per DiamondRing.com, how much a diamond costs depends on its cut, color, clarity and number of carats. The most expensive one ever sold was bought in Hong Kong in 2007 by London's Moussaieff Jewellers. It paid $7.98 million for a 6.04 diamond. Cost per carat? $1.32 million (see Resources).
Toughness
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Both moissanite and diamonds are very tough gems. They can last for generations since they are sustainable for everyday wear.
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Resources
Comments
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simplycurious
Feb 21, 2010
Moissanite wasn't created but rather it was found in a meteorite and since then has been synthetically reproduced since it can't be naturally found on Earth, which I think draws to its allure.
