![]() It is estimated that for every carat of diamond mined, over 1 ton of earth is excavated. Furthermore, while hardness only applies to the resistance to scratching, diamonds have internal cleavage planes which make them susceptible to cracking, a fault that most moissanite is immune to.ĭiamond mining causes enormous environmental devastation. Moissanite comes in at a close second at 9.25 (still harder than sapphire). It's no secret that diamond is the hardest mineral found on Earth, with a hardness of 10 on the Mohs scale. With many diamond buyers later regretting their purchases and wondering why they ever spent so much, moissanite fills a valuable role in providing an amazing experience all without the markups of the diamond industry. While diamonds require complex mining operations that span across the globe, moissanite can be grown in cutting-edge labs and thus, savings are able to be passed on to you.Ĭouples love using their savings to go on luxurious honeymoons, begin saving for a beautiful home, or start an education fund for children. Finding a truly-colorless diamond is exceedingly rare and incredibly expensive.Īlthough loved for its superiority in both appearance and sustainability, moissanite is also prized for its affordability and lower markups. The truly colorless quality of top-grade DEF moissanite gems also allows for a higher level of brilliance than diamond due to the varying inclusions in diamonds muddying the light and diminishing the overall appearance of each gem. Fire is the colorful flashes coming from the gem material itself.ĭue to its high R.I, moissanite produces a higher degree of fire than diamond. Brilliance is the white flashes that result from the reflection of light off the surfaces of the facets. When viewing high refractive index (R.I.) gems, there are two qualities which catch the eye: brilliance and fire. Let's examine the differences between moissanite and diamond. Now mainly grown in cutting-edge laboratories, brands like Francis Claire can ensure that each gem is flawless, colorless, and rivals natural diamond. Fortunately in recent years, expert gemologists, smart couples, and jewelers have begun searching for conflict-free diamond alternatives that are just as beautiful and lustrous. Meet moissanite.įirst discovered in 1893 by Henri Moissan, moissanite is an incredibly rare and naturally-originating gemstone. Each stone has to be viewed as an individual case.There’s no doubt that over the years, diamonds have been expertly marketed to become one of the most popular and sought-after gems for all types of jewelry. ![]() Darker or more included stones will not show as much fire as lighter and/or cleaner gem material, so we cannot rely on the refractive index alone. Some other factors will affect the fire of a gemstone. ![]() Simply put, the higher the refractive index, the greater the dispersion. We can often measure fire (dispersion) with a refractometer, as it has a direct relationship with the refractive index of a gemstone. However, some coloured gems also exhibit notable fire, such as sphene, demantoid garnet, sphalerite and zircon, as well as the man-made material, cubic zirconia. ![]() As the white light enters the gem, the different frequencies of light are refracted by different angles, thereby splitting the white light into the various constituent colours, from red to violet, and we see the rainbow effect inside the gemstone.ĭiamond is undoubtedly the gemstone that is the most well known for its fire and it is the case that we can see the rainbow colours most clearly in colourless or light-coloured stones. Fire is an effect of the light passing into the dense gem material and being split into the colours of the spectrum by refraction. It is another behaviour entirely that creates what we know as the fire (also known as dispersion) in a gemstone. Conversely, poorly cut gemstones will appear quite dull in comparison. Well-cut stones will appear dazzling and, for coloured stones, the viewer will see outstanding colour in the gem. If the gem cutter has done a good job with their proportions and angles in the cut stone then the facets of the gem's pavilion will reflect the maximum amount of light back through the table facet and into the eyes of the person viewing the stone. That might be white light (for white or colourless gemstones) or a particular coloured light (for coloured gemstones). ![]() When we speak of brilliance, we are talking about the light that is reflected from the inside of a gemstone (rather than from its surface). So what are gem experts saying when they refer to a stone's fire or its brilliance? Both of these properties are desirable, but we need to know why. The words might seem to convey a similar idea, but in a gemmological sense, these technical terms mean quite different things. When we are talking about the appearance of gemstones, there are a couple of descriptive words that often case a bit of confusion - fire and brilliance. ![]()
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