Many women fantasize about owning traditional diamond jewelry, however, it is not the only quality gemstone you can sparkle with. When you also consider the high price of diamonds, moissanite is a beautiful diamond alternative. This gem, so scarce in nature, has unique characteristics that make it one of the most beautiful, most brilliant, and most durable gemstones. In this Planderful post we will tell you why moissanite is the ideal alternative to diamond, do you dare to discover it?
Source: https://www.moissaniteintl.com/blog-7-amazing-facts-about-moissanite-7.aspx
What you need to know about moissanite
Moissanite was discovered in 1893 by the chemist Henri Moissan when he was investigating a meteorite crater in Arizona. At first, he thought they were diamonds because of their uncanny resemblance. However, years later he discovered that it was a gem made of silicon carbide, an element that comes from the stars and is rare in nature. The gem was named Moissanite in honor of Moissan.
Today, because of the difficulty of finding moissanite in nature, moissanite is created in laboratories. Being lab-created also makes moissanite an ethical alternative to diamond, as it does not cause the environmental damage that mining activity necessary to extract the diamond in its natural state.
This means that you buy synthetic moissanite jewelry, but this does not mean that it is a cheap version of a diamond. We invite you to discover the properties of this gemstone and why moissanite is a beautiful diamond alternative.
How to determine the beauty of a gemstone
Gemstones are those gems that stand out from other gems because of their durability, rarity, and beauty.
The hardness determines the durability of the gemstone over the years. Family jewels, those that we treasure and pass from generation to generation, are pieces that stand the test of time and remain beautiful.
The rarity, scarcity, or difficulty to find them in nature determines their value. A scarce mineral will be much more expensive than one that is abundant in nature.
Finally, when we speak of the beauty and perfection of a stone we refer to its color, brilliance, transparency, and purity. A colored gemstone, with great purity, without imperfections, and with radiant color, can have a value even higher than that of a diamond of similar characteristics.
- Light and fire
Moissanite is the most brilliant gemstone that exists, above the diamond. Why does moissanite shine brighter than a diamond? It is because it has more fire than a diamond. Fire refers to the spectrum of colors formed by the reflection of light. Moissanite gives off flashes of color, like a rainbow, while diamond has a flash of white. The Fire is one of the most sought-after characteristics in a gemstone because it gives life and energy to the jewel, anyone is mesmerized by the sight of a moissanite jewel. This flash of color is known as dispersion.
On the other hand, the brilliance is due to the internal and external reflections of the white light, it is easier to see when the gem is viewed upwards. This element is as important as fire and sparkle. The brilliance is the ability of the moissanite to "return" light to the eyes of the viewer, it makes it appear that the light from the moissanite comes from the gem itself and not from a play of reflections that happen with the light around it.
The brilliance also depends on the cut and shape of the moissanite. Some cuts and shapes favor brilliance. Every EXCELLENT cut of moissanite receives three properties: Brilliance, Dispersion, and Scintillation.
Source: https://www.creditdonkey.com/diamond-fire.html
- Color
Nowadays, you can easily find moissanite in the same range of colors as white diamonds. The most popular moissanite is colorless without inclusions, that is, without imperfections on the surface or inside of the gem. Unlike diamonds, the color of moissanite cannot be classified like other gems. Instead, we can recognize the different colors as colorless, almost colorless, light, medium, and strong.
The diamond, on the other hand, is difficult to find totally colorless because the yellow predominates due to the presence of traces of nitrogen. However, the main benefit of moissanite is that, as it is created in a controlled manner in laboratories, it is usually obtained almost flawless and colorless.
Yellow, brown, or even green moissanite is also produced synthetically. It is a simple question of aesthetics and taste, for those who do not limit themselves to the traditional transparent stone.
- Clarity
Because moissanite is grown in a laboratory, they do not have the major clarity flaws that diamonds can contain. Therefore, moissanite is always clean, whereas diamonds may contain flaws that are visible to the naked eye.
The clarity of a stone is measured by the number of inclusions (imperfections) it possesses. In this sense, the clarity of a gemstone can be classified as follows:
VVS1/ VVS2: Very very slight inclusion.
VS1/ VS2: Very slight inclusion
S1/ S2/ P: Slight inclusion
Clarity is also linked to purity. The higher the clarity, the higher the purity of the gem and therefore the higher the value.
For those on a lower budget, finding a clean or pure diamond of the size they desire can be difficult. It involves examining many diamonds very carefully. This can be time-consuming and may require the help of an expert.
- Hardness
On a Mohs scale of 1 to 10, diamond is the hardest known material with a level of 10. Only a diamond can scratch another diamond. Moissanite has a hardness of 9.25 and is the second hardest material used in gemstones. Unless you store moissanite with diamond jewelry, it is unlikely to scratch. For a considerably lower price than diamond, moissanite is the second hardest gemstone in nature.
Moissanite does not have cleavage planes, whereas diamonds do. This refers to an internal plane along which the diamond crystal can easily split. This gives moissanite a durability advantage.
Source: https://earthweb.com/moissanite-vs-diamond/
Now that you know why moissanite is a beautiful diamond alternative, don't forget to visit the Planderful website and discover our moissanite jewelry collection.
