WHAT IS MOISSANITE?
In 1893, Nobel Prize-winning French scientist Dr Henri Moissan examined fragments of a meteorite from Diablo Canyon in Arizona. There, he discovered a minute quantity of a glittering mineral composed of silicon carbide. In 1905, the mineral was named moissanite in his honour.
Moissanite occurs naturally only in very small quantities. It took experts more than a century to produce large moissanite crystals, cut them to perfection and transform them into dazzling gemstones.
Moissanite is the second-hardest gemstone in the world after diamond. It also has very similar properties, with a hardness of 9.25, a brilliance of 20.40% and 2.5 times more fire than diamond. To the untrained eye, it is almost impossible to distinguish moissanite from a diamond.
Thanks to its properties and considerably lower price, moissanite is an ideal gemstone for jewellery designed for everyday wear.
You can learn more about the differences between moissanite and diamond in our online article, Diamonds or Moissanite?