1800s .50pt European Moissanite from a meteorite

[Bjoy]

I have a what I thought was a diamond because of my tester. Took to a jeweler.. tested as Moissanite. It is an old ring from the late 1800s , belonged to my friends grandmother. He said not newly cut, definitely antique. Whoa it is rare! I listed on ebay, maybe should keep?

 

[rockhoundofficiando]

The setting may be vintage or even "rare" however if the stone is Moissanite, that's only a man made diamond simulant obviously added later. Moissanite was first created in the 1990's, nothing vintage about it. In its natural state silicon carbide (moissanite) is a GREEN TRACE sized mineral only. Extensive additives and processing turns it into large diamond simulants. It's available in many different cuts, including oec's etc. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

 

[Bjoy]

It was my friends grandmothers, stone and setting....very old much older than the 90s

 

[Bron357]

Natural Moissanite found in meteorites are tiny, not large enough to facet into a gem. No one can look at or test a gem to evaluate when it was facetted into a gem. Assumptions however can be made by the style of cut. Modern man made Moissanite is cut into all shapes including the “old” rose cut and old European cut, shapes normally associated with older cut diamonds. The Asian and Indian markets are currently hand cutting into more basic shapes (like the old days) because they don’t all have the latest fancy modern facilities. Their cutting style can look naive and basic, must like older gems cut before modern machines and technology. If your friends Moissanite was genuine natural from a meteorite, yes, it would be valuable. But to prove this the gem would have to be sent for spectrum analysis and carbon dating - very expensive I imagine - to identify it as natural and not man made. And even though the setting is from the 1890s, it is quite likely that either the original diamond was lost or damaged and much more recently replaced with a modern man made Moissanite. Old rings very often have had their original gems replaced.

 

[whitewave]

Maybe someone stole her diamond and had it reset with a fake diamond. Any sketchy family members? Maybe grandma did it to pay a bill?

 

[rockhoundofficiando]

It was my friends grandmothers, stone and setting....very old much older than the 90s

The setting may well be old but if the stone is larger, white, clear and sparkly, yet is actually just a moissanite, then the stone cannot be any older than from the 90s. There's no doubt about that.
As pp said, diamonds or other valuable gemstones are sometimes replaced in older jewelry with simulants. That's likely what happened in this case.

 

[VRBeauty]

It seems the jeweler who tested your ring might not be that knowledgeable. Consider taking it to another jeweler for a second opinion.

 

[partgypsy]

actually, sounds like you just got ripped off. How much do you trust your friend? If you paid for a diamond ring, and you got an moissanite, you should see if you can get a refund.