In Which Cliff Changes His Mind About Moissanite March 16, 2019 17:52
I have been in the jewelry business for 20 years now. Cool thing about doing something for a while is the perspective time can provide. When the man made gem Moissanite first hit the market in 1998, about the time I completed my Diamonds Graduate training with GIA, I was less than impressed. The color was low on the GIA scale and the price, in my opinion, was way too high for a man made gem.
For the unaware, Moissanite is generally marketed as a diamond substitute for very good reasons. It is a 9.5 on the Mohs Scale and therefore is very durable and the light return and scintillation is very close to diamonds.
We opened our store in 2002 and there were several occasions where I talked people OUT of buying Moissanite because of the price and color - they did get the color better as time went on, but I still felt it was waaaay overpriced. That all changed in 2015 when the patent for the gem fell off.
These days I am happy to show, talk about and sell Moissanite. I can sell you a colorless 1 ct (6.50 mm) size for less than $400. We recently sold this great looking ring with diamonds as accent stones to the center, colorless Moissanite. It is a beauty.
If you look at our website, you will find two more examples of Moissanite rings right now. One is a vintage style yellow gold ring with a 5.0mm (1/2 carat size) center that is $790.
We also asked our friend Jere to make Moissanite the main attraction in this Art Deco inspired halo ring. The halo is set with diamonds, but the center is Moissanite.
These rings give you a good indication of the beauty that is available to you at an affordable price.
We are now big fans of Moissanite - we always have something in our case to look at.