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CHARACTERISTICS OF MOISSANITE
Physical
Properties:
Moissanite is most often referred to as having uncommon
brilliance, luster, and fire. Here you’ll find
information about what these words mean relative to moissanite, as
well as a brief discussion about color, clarity, cut, and carat –
also known as the 4 C's.
More in-depth
descriptions of the physical properties of moissanite can be found
at
www.moissanite.com, Charles & Colvard’s
website.
Brilliance:
Considered to be the most important physical property of a
jewel, brilliance is determined by the Refractive Index (RI) that
measures how much light is returned to the eye by the jewel.
Moissanite has a higher RI than diamond, thus it is more
brilliant. Luster: Another
word for luster is shine. Luster is the measurement of the surface
reflection, which indicates the shininess of the jewel. Tests show
that moissanite has more luster than a diamond, ruby, sapphire, or
emerald.
Fire: When light
travels through a jewel, white light is spread, separating into the
colors of the rainbow. This separation is referred to as dispersion,
or fire. Moissanite’s brilliant colors are easily visible even in
low-light conditions, such as in a candle lit room.
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VERY IMPORTANT...
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All Moissanite stones are manufactured in the same Charles & Colvard laboratory and, contrary to some advertising I've seen on the internet, a jeweler cannot purchase either Moissanite rejects or Moissanite jewels that are said to be superior to other Moissanite stones.
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Moissanite is not separated into grades because Charles & Colvard has set specifications that each stone must meet before being released to distributors. Those specifications are comparable to diamonds which have been graded VSI (Very Slightly Included - Minor inclusions difficult to locate at 10x). Moissanite has no real inclusions...rather it has white, needle like structures which cannot be seen without 10x magnification and even then, they are very difficult to see. In addition, since Moissanite has no natural fractures, it is considered sturdier than diamond because it has no fractures that might crack if it is subjected to an impact of some kind.
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*Moissanite is lighter in weight than diamond. An 8 mm round diamond, which has been cut to diamond industry specifications, weighs approximately 2 carats. An 8 mm round Moissanite – identical to the diamond in every way, will weigh 1.63 carats. Both stones are identical in size and shape but the diamond will weigh more than the Moissanite. That is one of the reasons that Moissanite is described in millimeters most of the time.
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Also, Moissanite is very very hard -- second only to diamond. Sapphire, used in industry because of its hardness, is not as hard as Moissanite. This is the reason that Moissanite maintains its clarity and sparkle beyond a lifetime. The only other gemstone that can scratch Moissanite is another Moissanite or a diamond -- so the optical characteristics of Moissanite are comparable or superior to diamond (sparkles more).
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However, you need to know that Moissanite cannot compare in color to a colorless diamond. Completely colorless diamonds are very rare and very expensive. Moissanite's color can be found in the G through J diamond grading color scale. You will not find a D diamond color graded Moissanite stone.
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The only thing that can scratch a Moissanite is another Moissanite or a diamond. That is why your Moissanite jewel will look as beautiful 30 years from now as it did on the day you bought it!
A special note about
Durability. Words like hardness, toughness, and durability
refer to a jewel’s resistance to being scratched. The jewelry
industry uses the Mohs Scale to rate a mineral’s hardness.
Moissanite has a hardness rating of 9.25, making it the second
hardest jewel in the world. While the hardest is diamond, both can
easily cut glass.
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