Moissanite engagement rings get their stones from man made crystals today, but the first Moissanite was from outer space.
In 1893 a scientist discovered a meteorite in the Arizona desert.
His name was Dr.
Henri Moissan.
This was determined to be a new mineral based from silicon carbide.
Because of this discovery, the new mineral was named in his honor and today is known as Moissanite.
This is still a very rare mineral and natural Moissanite is not commonly used for jewelry.
In the 1980"s a process was discovered that could produce the Moissanite by growing the crystal under laboratory conditions.
The resulting stone has 2 ½ time the fire of a natural diamond.
While not as hard as a diamond, it does come in second for all known minerals.
Moissanite engagement rings are not diamond rings but a unique stone all to themselves.
There are those that are almost colorless and could pass as a diamond to those that do not know what they are looking at.
Some of the Moissanite stones do have a gray or green color under intense sunlight.
These stones are more expensive than cubic zirconium but less expensive than a real diamond.
The one star quality that a Moissanite stone has over a diamond is in brilliance.
This is where the refractive index is measured.
The refractive index is the physical property that gives this stone a superior sparkle over the diamond.
The different in the two RI are the Moissanite is rated at 2.
65 to 2.
69 while a diamond is at 2.
42.
For more comparisons a Ruby is at 1.
77, a sapphire is at 1.
77 and an emerald is at 1.
58 on the RI scale.
Moissanite engagement rings are not diamonds or fake diamonds but a beautiful brilliant stone in a ring that can be proudly worn.