Moissanite Info

We now carry on a limited basis, regular Moissanite.   Rather, we only offer color enhanced Amora Moissanite, which is our own product with two patent applications in progress.

Amora is H color for most sizes under 9mm, and comes with an independent grading report and laser engraving on the girdle.  

Amora is now available in limited quantities here:

https://betterthandiamond.com/categories/Amora-Moissanite/

You can learn more about the development of Amora here:

Amora(tm) Moissanite, sneak peek intro

As noted, currently we do not offer *regular* Moissanite and here is why:

BetterThanDiamond previously carried both Moissanite and Asha, however due to the high return rate of Moissanite and customers clear preference at that time for Asha we discontinued it.

Moissanite (Silicon Carbide) is a very hard material and is very attractive in certain lighting due to it having a very high refractive index.  However, it has two shortcomings that prevent us from offering it currently:

1 - Color - We recently had two different batches of 7mm and 7.5mm Moissanite rounds graded using the GIA diamond color scale (Feb, 2011).  The color was K color or L color depending on the batch.  

While Moissanite sellers normally claim that Moissanite is "Near Colorless", K and L color are not near colorless on the GIA diamond grading scale.  In fact, K, L, M are graded as "Faint Color" and in terms of diamond color grading, would be termed "Faint Color" for 1ct+ stones.  

K color is where tinting is normally visible with the naked eye, and prices for K color diamonds can easily be half those of G color diamonds.  This is almost certainly why Moissanite sellers do not normally offer an independent color grading for moissanite since most customers do not want to purchase a K color stone.  

Further, approx 1 out of 5 stones displayed obvious green tinting (light green) that would further disclose that the stone was not diamond.  Most were yellow-grey and that is a better color tinting match to diamond.

Rounds that are 5mm and below show less color (and may get into J color which would be near colorless) and would be a better option at this time.  Note that square shapes in moissanite (princess, radiant, etc) will show even more obvious tinting, likely due to their lower brilliance as compared to the rounds.  

The larger rounds can look fine in certain lighting only to show their color tinting at inopportune times (esp. outdoors) and this was by far the largest reason for customer's returning moissanite.  Some customers reported keeping their hands over their rings while outdoors to avoid people from seeing it fluouresce green in direct sunlight.

It is important to note that many moissanite sellers show photos of diamonds or significantly color-enhanced photos to make moissanite look snow white (colorless diamond color) on their website photos.  We have even caught moissanite sellers utilizing stolen Asha photos as photos of moissanite on their site...thus, be fully aware that 'photos' of moissanite on many sites are not representative of how the product looks in real life.  

If you are comfortable with buying a K/L color diamond, then moissanite may be an option.  If you prefer more diamond like color range (H color is the average color of most diamonds sold in the US), then Mira is likely your best option.

2 - Cutting - Moissanite has a different crystal structure and refractive index than diamond or Asha.  It is hexagonal vs. cubic for Asha or Diamond, which makes it doubly refractive.  Combined with the higher refractive index (which is a positive since its has a high amount of sparkliness due to it) it is cut to different proportions and faceting in order to both minimize tinting and reduce the double refraction.

However, that cutting style makes it an easy give away that it is not a diamond since the internal faceting is different for those that are familiar with diamonds.  In particular, moissanite rounds are oddly cut to allow a circular window in the center where it goes completely clear when viewed straight on, instead of reflecting light back, and no diamond would be cut like this. This is another easy way to immediately disccern that it is moissanite and not a diamond.  

Moissanite does have very high hardness and very high refractive index and in those respects makes a nice gem in its own right.  

However, due to the color and cutting issues noted above, it is currently not as good a candidate for a gem grade diamond simulant (designed to look like a diamond) in the sizes and color range most customers want (1ct+).  Therefore, we only offer our Amora Moissanite for sale and not regular Moissanite, in keeping with our corporate mission of researching, developing and delivering the worlds most stunning lab grown gems.