Moissanite Jewelry

Born from a star this stunning jewel has a brilliant past. Originally discovered in celestial asteroids, Moissanite has a fire, brilliance and luster greater than the finest diamonds.

Dr. Henri Moissan discovered moissanite in a meteorite in 1893. However, the rarity of large natural Moissanite crystals prohibits their use in jewelry. Using an uncommon combination of art and science, moissanite is now available on earth!

Charles & Colvard expressly refrains from grading moissanite according to the popular color scale for diamonds. However, moissanite retailers and customers report that the color of moissanite compares to diamonds of I-J color.

Each moissanite jewel begins life as a large silicon carbide [SiC] crystal. Once the crystal is grown according to a proprietary thermal process, it is carefully calibrated and hand-cut.

The scientists at Charles & Colvard have determined the best cuts for each moissanite jewel shape. These cuts DO NOT correspond to popular cuts for diamonds, sapphires and other precious gemstones. Since moissanite and diamonds are fundamentally different, jewelers use different cutting techniques to maximize brilliance and clarity. If you cut a round brilliant moissanite jewel according to the specifications of an "ideal cut" diamond, the results would be poor.

The clarity of Moissanite is clean to the eye and can be generally compared to a VS1 diamond. Clarity does not vary by shape nor size of moissanite jewels. Each moissanite jewel contains small inclusions. The most common inclusions are whitish needle-shaped structures, VS or lower in appearance. These run sub-parallel to one another and are typically 85-92 degrees to the table. The inclusions bifurcate.