Moissanite is a naturally occurring mineral, silicon carbide, that is found in limited quantities in the earth. While moissanite exists in nature, it is so incredibly rare that it must be created in a lab to produce pieces large enough to cut into gemstones. When cut and faceted, moissanite is, the world’s most brilliant gem.

 

Why Moissanite?

If you’re looking for a center stone that’s hard and shiny but cheaper than diamonds, moissanite is a good choice. It has the following upsides. 

Cost

A moissanite stone looks similar to a diamond and costs far less. That means you can go higher in carat weight without paying a fortune.

 

Looks

Moissanite has near-flawless clarity. You won’t see any flaws or inclusions in a good stone. Moissanite stones also offer more fire and brilliance than diamonds.

 

Durability

After diamonds, moissanite is the most durable gemstone around. It has a rank of 9.25-9.5 on the Mohs hardness scale (diamonds are a 10). It doesn’t scratch, tarnish, or rub out like many other gemstones. 

 

Sustainability 

Moissanite is 100% lab-grown - never mined - so it’s both sustainable and ethical.

 

 

 

Brilliant Cut Vs. Crushed Ice Cut

 

The brilliant cut is the traditional, relatively symmetrical style which causes the classic sparkling pattern. Characteristic of brilliant cut stones are well-defined, arrow-like sparkling facets which can be seen fanning out from the centre of the stone when looking from front-on. They are cut with uniform facets on the pavilion (bottom angle of the stone), which causes light to travel in the most efficient way possible, meaning the most light possible will exit the crown (top angle of the stone) and back to the observer. This causes the highest level of fire and brilliance possible for the stone.

 

Crushed ice cuts are a little different. In a crushed ice moissanite, the stone is cut to have more numerous, irregular shaped facets on the pavilion of the stone, bouncing the light within the stone in an irregular way. This means that although some light will bounce off two surfaces of the pavilion before exiting the crown, as is the case with the brilliant cut, some light will also bounce more times within the stone before exiting through the pavilion, as seen here. As a result, light is shooting in many scattered directions within the stone, causing it to look like – you guessed it – crushed ice. Due to these properties, crushed ice moissanite stones display a different sparkling pattern and a lower level of brilliance, fire and sparkle than a brilliant cut moissanite.

 

What is the bowtie effect?

An example of the difference seen between these two cuts is seen in certain shapes of moissanite such as oval or pear. Usually, an oval diamond will display some level of a bowtie effect, which is a darker band through the middle width of the stone where light is lost through the pavilion. This can sometimes detract from the stone if it’s too distinct, but can indeed help to give it a certain level of contrast, which some people prefer.