Looking at a moissanite and a diamond side by side, you might notice visible differences.
In this blog we are looking at a moissante and diamond side by side.
What are the main difference?
For a while now, moissanites became more and more popular in the world of Engagement Rings. Synthetic moissanite is marketed as an affordable diamond simulant.
Moissanite is a naturally occurring silicon carbide discovered by chemist Dr. Henri Moissan in 1893 in Canyon Diablo, Arizona.
Moissan was doing research on the crater when he made a discovery, initially he thought the crystals were diamonds however, further research and examination led to the discovery of the differences in the crystals compositions. The crystals he found bears the name of the founder (Dr. Henri Moissan) – Moissanites.
The natural moissanite that Moissan discovered is so rear that there is not enough to set a pair of solitaire earrings. The moissanites we see today, are all lab created moissanites.
Hardness
Diamonds are known and praised for their hardness, it’s part of what makes them so appealing for engagement rings, as they are worn, ideally, forever.
When compared to moissanites the difference is rather slim.
on the Moh scale (Scale of hardenss) the Diamond is a 10 and the moissanite is very near at a 9.25.
Cost to value
Diamonds are expensive, really expensive!
Diamonds are glorified for their rarity, when in reality they are much more common than some other gemstones that is much cheaper. |
The cost of diamonds are totally out of perspective and some people save up months or even years to buy a diamond.
Moissanites, however, with comparable hardness and appearance, does not have the inflated costs. Moissanites are much cheaper than diamonds and do not suffer in any other category.
With cost, value for money, the answer is clear.
Appearance
While a Diamond Engagement Ring sparkles, a Moissanite Engagement Ring has the potential to sparkle even more.
Diamond’s refractive index caps out at around 2.42. Moissanite, however, caps out at 2.65. This means that they are shinier and more refractive of light than diamonds.
While diamonds flash without the rainbow, moissanite tend so shine a vibrant rainbow. If the rainbow of a moissanite is bothersome, it might be a good idea to stray from moissanites. If however, when the light strikes the stone and the rainbow sparkles sound appealing to you, then yuou have your answer.
Ethics
Here is the biggest difference.
Diamonds (especially naturally mined diamonds) are highly unethical. Aside from the price inflation, which is a ethical problem in and of itself, the process of natural diamond mining is damaging to the environment.
There are ecological devastation in some parts of Africa due to diamond mining. Amongst other ethical problems in the categories of forced labour and violence.
Lab-created diamonds are definitely an ethical way to shop for diamonds but the cost is still very high.
Moissanites has no such issue, Moissanites can not be mined – they are found in meteorites, this is the reason why natural moissanites are extremely rare. There are zero environmental impacts.
Moissanites or Diamonds? What do you think?
It’s important to know your options and moissanite is definitely a good one.
Although if you have your heart set on a diamond engagement ring you have your answer.
