Moissanite is a lab created gemstone. It is made in the laboratory from carbon and silicon using heat and pressure.

It is commonly used as a diamond simulant, meaning that it is a diamond substitute but is not a diamond. It may be the  simulant that looks the closest to a diamond.

It is carbon based like a diamond and its thermal conductivity is similar to a diamond. It will fool conventional thermal diamond testers and will register as a diamond. You would need a moissanite tester to confirm that it is not a diamond.

It has a refractive index  is also similar to a diamonds and will appear as brilliant. Unlike a diamond it is double refractive whereas a diamond is single refractive. A moissanite  has more “fire” (dispersion) than a diamond. It also appears a little darker in the J-L color range with a tinge of yellow to green.

It has a hardness of 9.5 on the Mohs scale so it it very durable. Diamonds are a 10 on the Mohs scale.

As a lab created gemstone it is not a diamond and is therefore not as valuable as a diamond. It is approximately one-twentieth the value of diamonds.

Moissanites because its properties are similar to a diamond it can be considered a “fabulous fake” and it may be just the right fit for some people.

Russell Oshita, the diamonddude
The Diamond Specialists Inc.
Diamonds Hawaii

With our knowledge and experience we can usually tell just by looking at the stone and it looked like it could be a real diamond. To confirm it positively we used a diamond tester and it indicated that it was a diamond. We also tested it with a moisannite tester to rule out that it was not a moisannite, because moisannites can fool diamond testers.

It was indeed a diamond that weighed ¾ carat which was worth about $4000. What a fortunate find! I guess some people are just born lucky!

Russell Oshita, the diamonddude

The Diamond Specialists, Inc.

Diamonds Hawaii