Moissanites are beautiful stones made from silicon carbide. They were originally founded by chemist Henri Moissan in 1893.
Although moissanites make gorgeous engagement ring center stones, they are completely different than diamond chemically, optically and physically and do scratch, cloud, and chip over time.
Moissanites have a very strong brilliance, meaning the light reflected from within the gem. This gives moissanites a lot of sparkle. This can be very eye catching, although some find it to have a synthetic disco ball or firework effect. The larger the moissanite, the more noticeable this effect.
Moissanites are a 9.25 on the Moh's hardness scale, just below diamond which is a 10. They are suitable for everyday wear but over time, they will wear and scratch.
Affordability is perhaps what attracts people to moissanite as an engagement ring center stone. Moissanites are around $500 for a 1ct.
Because moissanites are so rare to find naturally, moissanites are created in labs. This ensures your moissanite is conflict free and eco-friendly.