Moissanite

Moissanite is a mineral that was discovered in 1893 by Dr. Henri Moissan, a French Scientist. Dr. Moissan was the first to discover tiny amounts of this natural silicon carbide within a meteorite that had crashed in the Arizona desert. These particles were diamond like in appearance. In 1905 it was named Moissanite in his honor.

Moissanite is rare and unique in fact, it was born of a star fifty thousand years ago. Naturally occurring quantities of Moissanite are so small, however, that gem-size crystals did not exist-that is, until 1998, when Charles & Colvard introduced laboratory-grown crystals of this otherworldly jewel to the international market.

Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite boasts fire, brilliance and luster beyond all jewels. Its superb hardness and unmatched beauty are now, for the first time, available on earth.

Simply put Moissanite is a jewel of its own beauty and not a substitute for diamonds, it is man made and has a wonderful color and luster of its own. Most important are its characteristics, which are its beauty, durability, and its rarity.

Moissanite is a jewel of its own and is not a substitute for diamonds as many armatures would have you believe. Moissanite is not graded on the GIA color Scale. It is available in a near-colorless form that is brilliant and highly dispersive - thus, a beautiful jewel that has endless possibilities with new and exciting jewelry designs.

Created Moissanite can be identified by: Use of a moissanite tester; a specific gravity test with a calibrated medium such as methylene iodide; Moissanite is doubly-refractive and has needle-line inclusions that show with the use of a diamond scope.

What about the Gem quality and near colorless look of Moissanite? As we have said before Moissanite stones are beautiful in their own right. If you truly are trying to purchase a jewel that comes as close as possible to the properties of a natural diamond Moissanite is not the jewel for you.

So far it is impossible to produce a pure white moissanite. The stones have a quality known as fluorescence that causes Moissanite to appear slightly green or a tint of yellow. The smaller moissanite stones 1/4 carat or less won't show this effect as much and look nice in just about any gold mounting. Moissanite jewels come in either a dark green or shades of colors that face up white but always have a slight tint of green or yellow. Below are a few pictures that help disclose the colors of Moissanite.