Moissanite

Moissanite is a gemstone that was discovered in 1893 by accident. The French scientist Henri Moissan, who later won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, discovered microscopic particles in a crater from a meteorite that fell into the earth. He first thought he had discovered diamonds but a few years later came to the conclusion that the crystals he discovered were of a different composition. A moissanite, which was what Henri Moissan discovered, is similar to a diamond in many ways. The difference is that instead of hard pressed carbon, which a diamond is made of, a moissanite consists of so-called silicon carbide. A natural moissanite is very rare and therefore almost all moissanites are made in a laboratory.

The difference between moissanite and diamond. They actually have a higher refractive index than diamonds (more sparkle). The other difference is the hardness (MOHS scale). Diamonds are a 10 and Moissanite is a 9.5-9.25 and the scale is exponential, like earthquakes. They are incredibly hard and never change color or lose their sparkle. They are also completely conflict-free and environmentally friendly.