Pendant with cushion-cut moissanite, 1.26 Carat, VS1 "fancy order blue" with 925 silver setting

Materials used:

Socket: Material 925 sterling silver, claw setting
Gemstone: Moissanite, 1.26 Carat, VS1, "fancy blue" / intense blue in cushion cut


What is a moissanite?
Moissanites are an OWN TYPE OF GEMSTONE with excellent gemstone properties. They have only been available in jewelry quality for a few years and are used as affordable but comparably beautiful and durable substitutes for diamond or brilliant jewelry.

Scientifically, a diamond is nothing more than densely packed carbon with a density of 3.52 g/cm3. Moissanite consists of silicon carbide (SiC) with a similarly dense crystal structure of 3.22 g/cm3. The hardness of a gemstone is also decisive for its durability. In terms of hardness, there is little difference between diamond (10 on the Mohs scale) and order moissanite (9.5). Both surpass other highly prized gemstones such as korunde (ruby, sapphire) with 9, beryl (aquamarine, emerald) with 8 or quartz (amethyst, citrine, rock crystal) with 7. A moissanite is therefore almost as resistant to mechanical influences as a diamond and more resistant than all other gemstones! And one thing is still surprising: under strong heat, a diamond decomposes from 837 degrees Celsius, moissanite is heat-resistant up to 1127 degrees Celsius. Who would have thought that moissanites are more durable than diamonds?

The beauty of the diamond is undisputed – but is it unique? Its fascinating sparkle is created by the refraction of light on the crystal ("brilliance") and the dispersion properties ("light scattering" or "fire") of the crystal. The refractive index of the diamond is an impressive 2.4 – more than all other gemstones. Only the moissanite even surpasses it with 2.6! The dispersion of moissanite reaches the fabulous value of 0.104 compared to the diamond with "only" 0.044. Cubic zirconia, which has long been used to imitate diamonds, also lags significantly behind diamond and moissanite. This means that the moissanite sparkles and glitters more strongly than any other known type of gemstone.

The mineral moissanite was first detected around 1900 by the later Nobel Prize winner Dr. Henri Moissan in the rock of the Canyon Diablo meteorite in Arizona. Until now, moissanite has only been found in meteoritic and volcanic rocks. Although moissanite is a naturally occurring mineral, not enough moissanite has been found to be able to grind stones for a few earrings! Therefore, today all polished moissanites in jewelry quality are of synthetic origin. In nature, moissanite is rarer than diamond!