Is moissanite a real stone? Yes — here's the science
Short answer: moissanite is a real gemstone — silicon carbide (SiC) — first discovered in 1893 by Henri Moissan in a meteor crater in Arizona. Natural moissanite is one of the rarest minerals on earth. The moissanite we set in jewelry today is lab-grown to the same chemistry and crystal structure, which is what makes it a real moissanite rather than an imitation.
Hardness
Hardness is measured on the Mohs scale. Diamond sits at 10, the hardest natural mineral. Moissanite is 9.25–9.5 — second only to diamond among gemstones used in jewelry. Sapphire is 9. Quartz, the standard for "everyday durability," is 7.
That score is why moissanite holds an edge in worn settings the way diamond does. A 7-Mohs stone in a ring you wear daily will scratch and dull at the table over a decade. Moissanite won't.
Brilliance and fire
Two optical numbers matter for a clear stone:
- Refractive index (RI) — how much the stone bends light. Higher RI = more sparkle.
- Dispersion — how much the stone splits white light into spectral colors. Higher dispersion = more rainbow "fire."
For reference:
- Diamond: RI 2.42, dispersion 0.044
- Moissanite: RI 2.65, dispersion 0.104 — over twice the dispersion of diamond
- Cubic zirconia: RI 2.15, dispersion 0.060
- White sapphire: RI 1.76, dispersion 0.018
That's why moissanite reads brighter and more rainbow-flashy than diamond at the same size. Some people prefer that fire. Some prefer the colder, whiter look of a diamond. Both are valid — it's a stone-character choice, not a quality difference.
Color and clarity
We work in colorless to near-colorless moissanite — what the trade calls D-to-F color equivalent. Visually, no tint. Internally, the stones are eye-clean: no inclusions you'll see with the naked eye.
Cheaper moissanite exists — older formulations are noticeably warm (yellow tint), and lower-clarity stones show internal cloudiness. We don't cut corners there. Our Materials & Craft page documents the grade we use.
Price
A 1-carat colorless moissanite is typically a fraction of the cost of a comparable diamond, because the stone is lab-grown at scale instead of mined and graded. That price gap doesn't reflect a quality gap — it reflects the supply story. You can spend the saved capital on a heavier setting, a larger stone, or a custom design instead of on the rock.
"But is it a real stone?"
Yes. "Real" in gemology means it's a natural mineral species with a defined chemistry and crystal structure. Moissanite is silicon carbide; SiC; trigonal crystal; refractive index 2.65. Whether the silicon and carbon were combined in a lab or in a meteor doesn't change what the stone is, any more than ice from a freezer is somehow not water.
What it is not: a diamond simulant in the way cubic zirconia is. CZ is engineered to imitate diamond and falls apart under any optical test. Moissanite isn't trying to be diamond — it's its own stone with measurably better fire and effectively the same hardness.
What we recommend
For an engagement ring or anniversary piece you intend to wear daily, moissanite gives you diamond-level durability and more fire than diamond, at a price that lets you size up or invest the rest in the setting. For a stone where you specifically want the cool, classical look of diamond, get a diamond. There is no wrong answer; there's the stone that fits the piece you're building.
If you want one in a piece, every "With Stone" material option on our Birthstones page uses moissanite for clear stones and natural birthstones for the colored options.