History

Moissanite is a stunning jewel with a brilliant past. Fifty thousand years ago a meteorite crashed into the Arizona desert creating what is now known as "Meteor Crater." Fragments of this meteorite were scattered across the desert.

In 1893, Nobel-Prize winning scientist Henri Moissan began studying fragments of this meteorite from nearby Diablo Canyon. In these fragments Dr. Moissan discovered minute quantities of a shimmering new mineral, with fire and brilliance never before seen on earth.

After extensive research, Dr. Moissan concluded that this mineral was made of silicon carbide. In 1905, this mineral was named Moissanite, in his honour.

Despite this amazing discovery, since naturally occurring quantities of Moissanite are so minute, it would be another century before this stunning mineral would emerge as the brilliant jewel it is today.

In the summer of 1995, a master diamond cutter observed samples of Moissanite and suggested that properly cut crystals would make a brilliant new jewel.

Why Choose Moissanite from Charles & Colvard?

Charles & Colvard developed a way to produce in a laboratory, large gem-quality crystals which can be faceted into near-colourless jewels with incomparable fire and brilliance.

Charles & Colvard created Moissanite® is truly a unique and beautiful blend of art and science. It is named after Dr Henri Moissan, who discovered minute quantities of it in samples from a meteor crater in Arizona.

Moissanite created by Charles & Colvard® may look like diamond however; it is a unique jewel with different physical, optical and chemical properties.

It has a hardness of 9.25 - 9.5 on the Mohs Scale.

Rarity

Moissanite created by Charles & Colvard is by far the rarest jewel on earth.

Naturally occurring quantities of Moissanite are so minute; they are not suitable for use in jewelry. After a century of research, only one company in the world is capable of growing Moissanite crystals suitable for use as a precious jewel. Still the process is so complex, that it is as much an art as a science.
Charles & Colvard, Ltd. uses a combination of art and science to turn these rare jewel-quality crystals into a very limited quantity of created Moissanite jewels.