What Is Moissanite? The Complete Plain-English Guide

Moissanite is a real gemstone — silicon carbide, to be exact — that looks strikingly like a diamond, actually throws more fire, and costs a fraction of the price. If you've been comparing diamond alternatives, this is the one that keeps coming up, and for good reason. Here's the whole story in plain English.

Moissanite was discovered in 1893 by the French chemist Henri Moissan, sifting through a meteor crater in Arizona. He was so sure he'd found diamonds that it took years to realize this was a brand-new mineral. Natural moissanite turned out to be almost nonexistent on Earth, so every stone in jewelry today is grown in a lab to gem quality — which is exactly why it's affordable.

Chemically, moissanite is silicon carbide — a completely different material from both diamond (pure carbon) and cheap imitations like cubic zirconia. That matters, because its structure is what gives it two standout traits: extreme hardness and extreme sparkle.

Moissanite's dispersion — the measure of rainbow 'fire' — is 0.104, more than double a diamond's 0.044. Its refractive index is higher too (2.65 vs 2.42). In plain terms, it bends and throws light harder than a diamond does, so in bright light it can sparkle almost disco-bright.

Very. Moissanite rates 9.25 on the Mohs hardness scale — second only to diamond (10) among stones you'll find in jewelry, and above sapphire. That means it resists scratching, won't cloud or dull over time, and holds up to everyday wear for life. It's a genuine forever stone.

This is the headline: a moissanite that looks like a one-carat diamond costs a few hundred dollars, versus $3,000–$20,000+ for the diamond. No mine, no scarcity premium, no decades of 'a diamond is forever' baked into the price. At Airwaves, every stone is D-color (the top, colorless grade), GRA certified, and set in solid S925 sterling silver.