Moissanite
Natural mineral deposits today are facing rapid depletion, which largely explains the fact that diamonds and all other gemstones have predictably grown to cost a fortune. However, human beings have always displayed ingenuity and resourcefulness over the years have eventually found a way to come up with better alternatives to address the scarcity of mineral deposits. This ushered in the introduction of the new breed of synthetic SIC gemstones that presents and wonderful and uncanny imitations of popular gemstones used in jewelries today.
Among the best alternatives available in the market today is moissanite, which was naturally derived in small amounts found in meteorites and have now been touted to be one of the unerring imitations of diamonds these days. Initially discovered in the small meteorite fragments in Arizona’s Diablo Canyon or more popularly known as the Meteor Crater, moissanite was named after its discoverer, Dr. Ferdinand Henri Moissan, who is also a Nobel Prize winner. Today, the synthetic moissanite are artificially grown in laboratories and cut into gemstones and more prevalently used as diamond simulants. What is more interesting here is moissanite jewelry pieces offers twice the beauty of diamond not merely because its less expensive but it also known to wonderfully mimic the fire observed in premium quality diamonds. Such astounding discovery have naturally created quite a stir in the jewelry industry and consumer markets who are more than eager to own diamond, whether genuine or synthetic.
As a simulant, synthetic moissanite can be quite difficult to tell apart from authentic diamonds, and even gemologists are sometimes fooled because of its deceptive similarities. For one, it rates 9.25 in hardness, whereas real diamond is a 10, among with an impressive refractive property with and index of 2.6-2.7, while authentic ones falls slightly lower at 2.42. However, the most noteworthy attribute that sets moissanite apart from the rest of the artificial diamond simulants is the fact that like the genuine piece it is also thermally conductive.
So if you are presented with a moissanite ring, how on earth can you tell if its authentic diamond or not? The answer lies in small telltale distinction that expert jewelers can easily detect. First, instead of displaying an isometric design, the simulants are hexagonal and a twice refractive that the original ones. Another helpful guide is to closely peer into the face of the faux diamond, moissanite with show double faceted edges, while real diamonds are known to appear with single edges. Since it is basically a synthetic material, its flawlessness turned out to be one of the most useful hints of detecting that it’s artificially made. So if you are presented with an unusually perfect piece, remember that there’s bound to be a catch somewhere. To some newlyweds or even engaged couples, a moissanite ring presents a more practical choice than spending a fortune on a genuine diamonds and has actually become a great trend in almost all forms of jewelry items.
Almost all of the available moissanite in the market today are artificially grown, mainly because the natural moissanite are quite rare and largely limited to the iron-nickel meteorites and some uncommon igneous occurrences. Technology has always been man’s secret weapon in finding numerous ways and solutions to life’s every day woes and dilemmas. And in view of the fast exhaustion of earth’s natural minerals, artificial ones that offer a close to the original attributes is definitely a highly welcome alternative for the rest of mankind. So if you don’t relish the fact of spending a small fortune on real diamonds, then you can simply set your eyes on expertly crafted moissanite diamond simulants to experience firsthand its almost too accurate imitation to one of the world’s highly coveted mineral.