| Diamonds have traditionally been set into | | | | passes the test. Even though jewelers could see |
| engagement rings. But, as consumers become | | | | that it looked very different from real diamond, |
| more educated about diamond cartels, which seek | | | | because it passed the thermal probe test, they |
| to hold the price of diamonds artificially high, blood | | | | were forced to identify the odd looking stone as |
| diamonds, which illegally finance oppression and | | | | a genuine diamond. |
| wars in the Third World and the confusing | | | | Now its properties are widely known, no jeweler |
| tradeoffs when buying them between the five Cs | | | | is fooled. Moissanite and diamond simply look too |
| of clarity, cut, color, carat and cost, some people | | | | different. And you can even see three |
| are starting to consider alternatives. | | | | differences for yourself! |
| However, if you love the look of diamonds and | | | | 1. Diamonds refract light. Moissanites refract it |
| want something like a diamond for your | | | | twice. This means that as the light bounces |
| engagement ring, there are many faux diamonds | | | | around the internal surfaces it causes an apparent |
| to choose from and you can do a lot better than | | | | doubling of the stone's back facets. To anyone |
| moissanite. | | | | looking closely, the stone's interior looks blurred as |
| Moissanite hit the market in the late 1990s. At | | | | in double vision. |
| that time it was hailed as better than the real | | | | 2. Gemstones get their fire when they disperse |
| thing! In tests, it seemed it even trained jewelers | | | | light. Moissanite disperses light extremely well; |
| could not distinguish it from genuine diamonds. It | | | | almost 2.5 twice better than real diamonds and |
| looked stunning and yet came at a fraction of the | | | | makes them flash with intense brilliance. This |
| cost of a real diamond! It was surely a cash | | | | beauty made them very popular in the early |
| strapped lover's miracle stone! | | | | years. But as the stone became better known, |
| Sadly, not so. In fact, moissanite is a poor | | | | the "disco ball effect" identified it as a fake |
| imitation of real diamond. | | | | diamond, and it is now thought to be cheap and |
| The reason why it apparently fooled so many | | | | tacky. |
| jewelers originally was simply because they had | | | | 3. Moissanites fluoresce under natural light, which |
| never encountered anything like it before. At that | | | | makes them look grayish or greenish. This is a |
| time, jewelers used a thermal probe to | | | | serious drawback and why you should never set |
| categorically identify a fake diamond, such as a | | | | them into an engagement ring, unless you never |
| cubic zirconium. At that time, only real diamonds | | | | intend wearing it during the day! |
| were known to possess thermal conductivity, so | | | | Although beautiful in their own right but if you |
| only real diamonds could pass the thermal probe | | | | want to save money and buy a faux diamond |
| test. However, moissanite has a thermal | | | | engagement ring, there are far better choices out |
| conductivity virtually identical to diamond, so it also | | | | there. |