Moissanites - The Best Diamond alternative
Natural Moissanite crystals were originally discovered in 1893 by a French scientist named Henri Moissan who later went on to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He discovered the crystals in a meteor crater at an Arizona meteorite site. Moissan mistakenly believed the crystals he found were diamonds. Actually, it turned out that what he had found was even rarer than diamonds.
Natural Moissanite is by far the rarest jewel on earth. Naturally occurring quantities of Moissanite are so minute, they are not suitable for use in Jewellery. In fact Natural moissanite is so incredibly rare, that just about all Moissanites available today are Laboratory Grown using a complicated thermal growing process. It takes their labs two to three months to create a single gem of lab grown Moissanite, due to an extremely complex and expensive process.
Unlike Diamonds, Moissanites have a double refractive characteristic, which gives them more fire, sparkle and brilliance than a Diamond or any other gemstone come to that. Moissanites are far superior to any other Diamond alternative gemstones on all counts.
Moissanites are considered an extremely top-quality replica of a diamond when it comes to clarity, colour and hardness. The larger they get, the more pronounced the 'rainbow effect' is that they show. Moissanite's have a higher refractive index than diamonds at 2.65 as opposed to diamonds' 2.42. On the hardness scale (MOHS Scale) Moissanites are rated at 9.25 and are only beaten into second place by Diamonds that are rated as 10.
In these modern times, Sustainability, Ethical and Eco-friendly attributes are quite rightly high on the agenda for many people purchasing Jewellery. Being a man-made stone, Moissanites are the perfect choice for Engagement and Wedding rings as no mining is needed to give you a perfect Moissanite. In fact, the same applies to all Lab grown and Lab Created Gemstones.
Moissanite Jewellery can be worn for every day wear. It’s a very durable and strong gemstone and although water itself will not harm it, as with all other gemstones, repeated exposure to soap, hand sanitiser, shampoo, conditioner, perfumes and Swimming Pool Chlorine can create a build-up of oils on the surface of your Moissanite and in turn can give your stone a dull, less sparkly appearance.
So in conclusion - Moissanites look identical to Diamonds, almost as durable, less expensive and yet even more sparkly.
Please visit our store where you will find many Moissanite pieces in our collections and other Lab grown or Lab Created Ethical and Sustainable Jewellery.
