Moissanite – A Gemstone Substitute

Moissanite, an naturally-occurring form of silicon carbide (SiC), can be found as inclusions in meteorites, corundum deposits and rare kimberlites. Moissanite can also be created artificially using traditional sintering and hot pressing techniques in a laboratory environment.

Moissanite gemstones used in jewelry are generally manufactured synthetically in laboratories. Here is how this remarkable gemstone comes to be.

Brilliance

Moissanite and diamond are similar in many ways, yet have many distinguishing characteristics that set them apart. One such characteristic is their brilliance – with moissanite often appearing brighter due to refracting light more, giving it more vibrancy than diamond.

Moissanite shines thanks to its iridescence, flashing a colorless rainbow of light as it reflects and disperses light – this effect is known as dispersion – giving moissanite its signature fire and beauty. When set against dark backgrounds, moissanite’s brilliant sparkle becomes even more strikingly apparent!

Moissanite shares many properties with diamond, such as high refractive index. This makes it highly reflective, creating a stunning and bright stone when cut with facets to bring out its interior beauty. As such, moissanite has long been used as a diamond alternative in jewelry; additionally, its hard surface, resistance to heat, and ability to be formed into disks makes it suitable for use as mirrors in telescopes.

Natural moissanite is exceedingly rare, so researchers developed an efficient process for producing it in a lab setting. This allows you to enjoy the beauty of this stunning gem at an affordable price without mining for it yourself. Each piece created under strict environmental and ethical standards is guaranteed for life by manufacturer Charles & Colvard.

Silicon carbide’s unique properties make it a fantastic material for creating gemstones and jewellery. Durable with superior scratch resistance compared to natural stones, Moissanite stands out as an eco-friendly diamond alternative with radiant brilliance surpassing most mined diamonds – it makes a wonderful eco-friendly option!

Icing On The Ring is proud to offer Charles & Colvard moissanite, a lab-grown gemstone company with patents on its production process. Since 1998, Charles & Colvard has been creating gorgeous diamond simulants from this remarkable gemstone with lifetime warranties against wear and tear – only available through Icing On The Ring!

Dispersion

Moissanite features an extraordinarily high refractive index and low dispersion, creating an effect similar to diamond at much less expense. Furthermore, its hard and durable surfaces with Mohs scale hardness ratings of 9 1/4 make it great for many practical uses as an abrasive or semiconductor material, not to mention being sold as gemstone alternatives with similar colors and weight as its diamond counterpart.

Moissanite, named in honor of French chemist Ferdinand Henri Moissan, was initially discovered in fragments from a meteorite which formed Canyon Diablo or Meteor Crater in Arizona in 1893 and subsequently in various metamorphic rocks including peridotites, serpentinites (Xu et al. 2008) and podiform chromitites (Bai et al. 2000), carbonatites, apatites and kimberlites (Lyakhovich 1980; Trumbull 2009). All these rocks present as idiomorphic crystals with lustrous surfaces on pyramid faces while matte surfaces on flat sides resembling star clusters or similar protuberances similaring star clusters resemblance.

In some instances, moissanite is associated with limonitic material penetrated by metallic iron. Other specimens display various textural characteristics and phase assemblages that suggest multiple processes leading to its formation, with no definitive evidence as to which type of reaction led to its creation. One case reported is of peridotite with both clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene with mantle X Mg values between 0.90-1.00 that metasomatized into moissanite and apatite (Gao and Liu 2008).

The mineral is still unknown in terms of its origin; some theories propose it could form in either an oxidation zone of a silicate melt, as an allote of carbon from metasomatized peridotite, or within an irradiated magnesite-quartz-silicate melt; another theory states it forms as an allote of silicon from porous graphite reactions. No matter where or how it forms, moissanite is very uncommon with most samples recovered from heavy mineral concentrates without much texture information available or textural context; in some cases Fe-silicides or metallic silicon may also attach themselves to individual crystals attached to individual crystals.

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Silicon carbide (SiC) can be found naturally in moissanite, an extremely rare mineral. SiC is produced as both powder and crystal for use as an abrasive because of its Mohs hardness rating of 9 on the Mohs scale – outranking diamond at 10. This makes SiC one of the world’s hardest natural materials; additionally it is widely used in tools, ceramic plates for bulletproof vests, semiconductor electronics devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), detectors in early radios etc.

Moissanite was named in honour of French chemist Henri Moissan, who discovered them while exploring rock samples from Canyon Diablo meteorite crater in Arizona in 1893. At first he mistook them for diamonds and was disappointed until 1904 when he learned they were actually silicon carbide crystals.

Moissanite stands out as being harder and more scratch resistant than sapphire or ruby due to its higher Mohs hardness value, which measures how many scratches a material can sustain before succumbing. Moissanite can withstand over one million scratch marks – more than 10 times more than diamond.

Moissanite stands out as an exceptional gemstone due to its durability, light weight, and beautiful hue. It features light gray-green hues with an exceptionally high refractive index; reflecting more of the visible spectrum than most gemstones gives this gemstone its trademark sparkle and fire.

Scientists have striven to replicate the miraculous properties of moissanite since its discovery. But it was in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina in the 90s where an innovative process for making large moissanite crystals for Charles & Colvard emerged.

Thermal Growing Method allows us to produce stunning jewelry-grade gemstones at a fraction of the cost of mined diamonds, producing exquisite gems at a fraction of their total value. Dazzling crystals dance with sparkles of brilliance that capture everyone who sees them; from their internal beauty and alluring genesis to creating an astonishing wearable gemstone with lasting appeal for generations.

Rarity

Silicon carbide (SiC), is an inert mineral with hard and brittle properties that forms crystals in various shapes. SiC is often found in meteorites or gemstones.

Henri Moissan made his initial discovery of moissanite while inspecting rocks from an Arizona meteor crater in 1893. At first he mistook its crystals for diamonds but later recognized their true identity as silicon carbide when examined under high-resolution microscopes.

Scientists have since produced synthetic moissanite in laboratories. This gem, an attractive, durable alternative to diamonds, has drawn much scientific interest over time. Moissanite is double-refractive – light entering its center is divided into two colors before being refracted outward – creating brilliance and fire that rivals that of diamonds; due to this feature, moissanite has also become popularly used for jewelry designs – especially engagement rings!

Hard and 10 times denser than diamond, garnet is one of the hardest, toughest minerals found on Earth, making it highly resistant to scratches. Ideal for rings, it withstands everyday wear and tear without cracking under pressure – not to be mistaken with cubic zirconia which isn’t an actual diamond substitute but made up of synthetic crystal made of zirconium dioxide.

Due to its rarity, most moissanite jewelry available today is lab grown. Produced using the same process as diamonds but instead using silicon carbide powder instead.

This process involves heating a mixture of silicon carbide powder and flux, such as lithium potassium fluoride, to a high temperature. Once this occurs, silicate vapor from this reaction is then deposited on top of an existing seed crystal to produce new moissanite crystals.

The gems produced through these techniques feature all of the optical characteristics associated with natural moissanite at a fraction of its cost, making them much more affordable than genuine diamonds and making them suitable as beautiful, long-lasting alternatives for formal evening gowns or statement pieces to pair with jeans. When looking for beauty at an affordable price point, moissanite is unsurpassed in its brilliance and sparkle – you won’t go wrong choosing its brilliance and sparkle as your next statement piece or wear-to-work accessory!