The Man Made Diamonds

Not denying that diamonds are girls’ best friends, of late, they have been having many other options of which moissanite is the most prominent. Moissanite looks like a diamond but is made in a lab.

Moissanite is made up of silicone carbide, a compound mineral that was discovered almost a hundred years ago in an Arizona meteor crater. On examining the same, a French scientist revealed that it had a rare sparkle. This excited the vice president of Tiffany and Company, but unfortunately it was realized that silicone carbide was too rare and minute to be used for making jewelry.

Later on, in 1998, it was successfully produced synthetically and thus became a retail product. It’s difficult to make out a moissanite from a diamond, but this is how you can differentiate the two:

1. It’s fiercely brilliant. Highly Skilled gem cutters cut faces of silicone carbide making it more brilliant than even a diamond. That’s because of the patented laboratory thermal growing process that delivers big crystals appropriate for jewelry.

2. If you keep a diamond and a moissanite side-by-side, you’ll find it difficult to differentiate between the two. It’s true that moissanite is not a diamond, but it is not a synthetic diamond too.

It’s a jewel by itself. You can make out the difference between cubic zirconia and moissanite. The former is inferior to diamond and lacks the gemological properties of a diamond. Cubic zirconia is not as hard and causes scratches.

3. Synthetic jewels are different than simulants. Like any other synthetic jewel, the physical and chemical properties of Moissanite are the same as that of a gemstone.

For instance, a synthetic ruby is the same as a natural ruby, but produced in a lab. Synthetics are produced in labs as per requirements. But, simulants only have resemblance to real jewels. A rhinestone may remind you of a diamond, but it lacks the properties of a diamond.

4. An easy way to test moissanite is to check its hardness. Its hardness is next to diamond, meaning no other gem is as hard. Diamond has a harness of 10, whereas moissanite measures a hardness of 9.5. Because of its hardness, it is tough and very durable and can withstand scratches.

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