Moissanite engagement rings are a popular choice for women who don’t want to spend too much on an engagement ring or have plans of upgrading as time and budget permits. Moissanite is perhaps the closest thing to a real diamond because it shares some similar specs with diamonds. The most important two are hardness and refractive index. The hardness of moissanite is 9.25 on the mohs scale compared with a simulant like cubic zirconia which is 8.5. The difference in hardness may not look like much but it is considerable and makes this simulant more ideal in a moissanite engagement ring.  Engagement rings are expected to last a long time so why not put the most durable stone in the center if you’re not going to put a diamond.

The refractive index is the other property of moissanite that makes it so appealing to use it as a large center stone in moissanite diamond engagement rings. The way it plays with the light issomething to be seen. It has a refractive index of 2.65 compared to diamond’s 2.42. Refractive index refers to the amount of light that is reflected from a clear material compared to what is absorbed. The higher the value the more light is reflected. Diamond’s refractive index is already higher than most clear gems and this gives it a high luster or what can be seen as a highly reflective surface.  Check out this engagement ring to the right with a radiant cut moissanite in the center and two trilliant moissanites on the side.

Moissanite is even more highly reflective than diamond and is cut a little differently to make best use of its higher RI. Add to this fact is that this diamond look-alike has more of a rainbow effect and  can be more brilliant if cut properly. Many women opt for a large moissanite center stone of say 2 carats that can run anywhere from $800 to $1200. Then they go for actual real diamonds as side stones in sizes ranging from 5 to 15 points which sell for $300 to $600 per carat depending on quality. So they end up with the best of both worlds for substantial savings.

Discount moissanite engagement rings can be found online at stores that allow you to pick your mounting and stone and then combine that into a single purchase while they do the setting. By purchasing your mounting and allowing them to set the  moissanite you will get the stone for about 10 to 20 percent less than you would just buying the stone and mounting separately. For instance, at Moissanite & Co. you will be charged $744 for adding 2 carat sized moissanite to your purchase while at moissanite-stardust dot com the same 8 mm 2 carat stone will be $1147.

Sometimes ready made mountings just don’t look different enough  and unique moissanite engagement rings can be created by allowing a skilled goldsmith or jeweler to hand craft you a mounting of either gold or platinum. A lot of women like engagement ring styles from the  Edwardian and Art deco periods and creating vintage moissanite engagement rings around the design influences of these periods can lead to a highly individualistic look that is at the same time a classic.

Moissanite has been on the downswing of late with shares of Charles and Colvard bottoming out. The problem is that moissanite for all its good looks is still overpriced compared to other diamond imitations. I would go for a medium quality diamond over a moissanite. What I don’t like about moissanite is it’s doubly refractive property which shows up more in rounds than any other cut. It is a bit distracting and when you throw in that pronounced rainbow effect I would much rather a diamond. A diamond has that clear cut brilliance that is all black and white without the “noise” caused by dispersion. Again, this is a personal preference. Many women love the fire in a diamond and absolutely trip out when they see it in a moissanite.

Moissanite other wise known as silicon carbide is a rare mineral that is commonly found in meteorites and in the earth. It belongs to the carbon group and because of its similarity to diamonds it has been used in jewelry ever since it began to be commercially produced by Charles and Colvard. They are the worldwide patent holders of the particular manufacturing process and are a major distributor of created moissanite jewelry.

The moissanite ring had been a popular choice as a less expensive substitute for a diamond ring when this mineral arrived in the jewelry market in 1998. Moissanite has a hardness of 9.25 on the mohs scale, a bit short of the 10 that diamond currently enjoys. The refractive index is slightly higher than that of a diamond which means that more light bounces off its surface and it also has twice as much dispersion as can be seen in this image to the left where the splitting of white light into a rainbow is fairly evident and the  doubly refractive property gives it more internal  reflections than you see in a diamond.

So moissanite has some properties that no other diamond simulant has and it looks significantly more appealing than any other simulant and is much less than diamond in price for sizes a carat and over. This is why you see a lot of women wearing moissanite engagement rings. Because of the inherent beauty of this stone and its cheaper price  J.C. Penney went big time into carrying the lab created diamond imitator and in doing so made the moissanite engagement ring a popular alternative to the diamond engagement ring. White gold wedding ring sets in this man made stone are very popular even with other retailers as well.

To take advantage of the superior optics of this synthetic mineral, it is usually cut shallower than a diamond  and this allows to be as brilliant if not more so than a diamond. This is how moissanite rings and moissanite earrings became popular. Moissanite studs with a combined weight of 2 carats or more offered substantial saving while delivering the brilliance similar to that of diamonds and significantly better than cubic zirconia.

These larger sized stones became popular in all sorts of moissanite wedding rings. The moissanite solitaire ring and the moissanite eternity ring became bridal staples in stores like JC Penny and Helzberg Diamonds. When moissanite is cut to its own proportions, that is when it comes alive. For instance, diamonds are usually cut with  a 34.5° crown angle which on a diamond is great fordispersion but a moissanite will actually block light from escaping the stone with this crown angle. However when it is cut a bit shallower with a lower crown angle it really shines by allowing more light to exit the stone through the crown as you can see in the ring to your right.  Moissanite solitaire rings show a fire that is not there in diamond. You see more of this rainbow effect and you see more surface area for a given weight than diamond because of the shallow cut and the high refractive index.