I Give Up, What the Heck is Moissanite? Morganite?

[iLander]

I tried to look it up, and some sites say it's a natural mineral, some say it's a synthetic.

Would someone just please tell me what it is?

I don't buy stones made popular after 1960 (so Tanzanite is not on my list) so I'll never buy it, but it seems pretty pricey in the store windows that I pass at the maul, so I'm puzzled. They're setting it in real gold with diamonds, and suddenly it comes in blue, so I that just confuses me more.

I hope this is not inappropriate, I'm just mystified . . .

It's not the same as morganite, is it? They look kinda the same to me . . .

 

[partgypsy]

moissanite is man-made (created gemstone). It has a high refractive index and double refraction, and often a slightly yellow/green tint.

Morganite is a natural gemstone, in the beryl family, pink-hued. The thing I always get confused is, both kunzite and morganite are pink, but one is more of a purple pink and one is more of a peach pink, but I get which one which confused.

 

[T L]

Moissanite, like CZ, is a diamond simulant. Moissanite is double refractive though, and diamonds are not.

Like Gypsy said, morganite is just pink beryl. Both look nothing like each other, so the only commonality is the M at the beginning of the name, three syllables, and 'ite' at the end.

 

[Tanzigrrl]

Moissanite is often used as a diamond sim.

Morganite is peachy-pink
Kunzite is lavendery-pink

Just curious, iLander, but why the personal ban against gemstones popularized post 1960?

 

[deorwine]

Moissanite (silicon carbide) does occur naturally (in meteorites for instance), which is why you see that information, but natural occurrences are very rare, and I believe natural moissanite crystals are all extremely extremely small. Any moissanite you see for sale will be synthetic.

I won't say too much more here for fear of running against board rules (I've talked about the natural occurrences here so I don't think I'm flouting any yet!), but there are other places/boards you can ask about it now that you know that the moissanite in jewelry is a lab-created gem.

part gypsy is right in that morganite is entirely different (IIRC morganite has a much lower refraction index so you ought to be able to tell them apart by putting them in the sun and seeing which one shoots rainbows Moissanite is also a lot harder.)

 

[Lee Little]

Another Diamond simulant, silicone carbide. It surprises me at what a warm welcome Moissanite gets compared to the ice water welcome for the older man made simulant, Cubic Zirconia.
I don't think we are allowed to talk about these on this forum though.
Morganite, as our part gypsy accurately mentioned is Beryl. A natural stone, usually not much exciting color. Named after a rich guy, Mr Morgan. Morganite is more stable than Kunzite which often fades and is much more durable/harder than Kunzite, an 8 compared to 6.5-7.
I do not deal in any of these 3 stones, mainly because I am just not interested in them for the prices they are offered for. Morganite would be my first choice if I was to use any of them, at least it is a sister to Emerald and Aquamarine. Best regards, Lee

 

[Deia]

Morganite is of the beryl family. It's a colored gemstone, light pink or peachy pink.

Moissanite is silicon carbide, it is mostly man made, it can be found in nature but very small specimens only. Moissanite has a higher RI than diamonds and currently come in a variety of colors, including near colorless I-J. It's actually quite a beautiful stone. And what you see at the maul is mostly crappy quality moissanite, and ridiculously expensive. If you search online you will find far more appropriate pricing for better material. You can learn more about moissanite on the site associated with DiamondBistro. Some people use moissanite as a diamond simulant, and that is how the maul stores market it, but imo it's quite pretty in its own right. CZ really is a diamond simulant.

And I'm curious too, why no stones after 1960?

 

[txgreeneyes]

Moissanite, like CZ, is a diamond simulant. Moissanite is double refractive though, and diamonds are not.

Like Gypsy said, morganite is just pink beryl. Both look nothing like each other, so the only commonality is the M at the beginning of the name, three syllables, and 'ite' at the end.

Any stone can be a diamond simulant. White sapphires, white topaz, moissanite, etc can all be considered diamond simulants.

Moissanite (silicon carbide SiC) is a rare stone discovered by Henry Moissan. Natural mined moissanite is very rare. The ones that you see for sale in the stores are most likely lab created.

There's nothing wrong with Moissanite. Just be aware of its quirks and that it's probably lab created.

 

[Richard M.]

I tried to look it up, and some sites say it's a natural mineral, some say it's a synthetic.

Would someone just please tell me what it is?

Moissanite is a very rare natural mineral: the transparent form of silicon carbide, the same stuff grinding wheels are made of. It's only been found naturally in small quantities in meteorites and certain diamond mines.

About 10-15 years ago commercial production of gem-grade synthetic Moissanite began and it's marketed as a diamond simulant by a company named Charles & Colvard. As noted above, it's easy to separate from real diamond due to its strong double-refraction which is usually visible through the crown girdle facets (the singly-refractive optic axis is usually oriented perpendicular to the table by the sneaky cutters so back-facet doubling isn't visible through the table).

Another sneaky thing about it is, like diamond, it's an excellent conductor of heat. Most standard diamond-testing machines are based on diamond's great thermal conductivity so Moissanite often tests as diamond with them. Always check for double-refraction through the crown or pavilion girdle facets.

Richard M. (Rick Martin)

 

[ChrisA222]

Morganite is of the beryl family. It's a colored gemstone, light pink or peachy pink.

Moissanite is silicon carbide, it is mostly man made, it can be found in nature but very small specimens only. Moissanite has a higher RI than diamonds and currently come in a variety of colors, including near colorless I-J. It's actually quite a beautiful stone. And what you see at the maul is mostly crappy quality moissanite, and ridiculously expensive. If you search online you will find far more appropriate pricing for better material. You can learn more about moissanite on the site associated with DiamondBistro. Some people use moissanite as a diamond simulant, and that is how the maul stores market it, but imo it's quite pretty in its own right. CZ really is a diamond simulant.

And I'm curious too, why no stones after 1960?

Question about this post....I thought all Moissanite was made by Charles and Covard..I wasn't aware of any reduced-quality product. I thought it was all the same. I know they sell the enhanced Moissanite, and the regular Moissanite, but what is this "crappy Moissanite"?

I had read that it was found in Meteorites, to me that is pretty cool. Its a really attractive stone...more dispersion, or "multi-colored fire" than Diamond. From what I gather, its cool in its own right, but not really a stone that I would want to impersonate a Diamond.

Lee..interesting what you say about Moissanite vs CZ. For me, the fact that Moissanite is a natural material, as well as a lab created stone, adds to the appeal. Also, the fact that Moissanite is fairly expensive adds to the value...CZ is very cheap, so why would it be valued as much as a Moissanite? You can literally go onto eBay and buy a CZ for a dollar. I associate it with plastic, or glass, just something that I'd never want in a piece of jewelry. Its something thats pretty and perfect for a little girls ring, etc.

Morganite vs Kunzite...Kunzite is more attractive stone IMO, more brilliant, shows different tones at different angles, etc. But it can fade if you have it in sunlight too often, and as mentioned, is less durable. Kunzite is the pink, or violet, or violet-pink version of Spodumene, like Morganite is the pink or peach version of Beryl.

 

[Ella]

Please remember that we do not allow discussion of simulants/man made stones or comparisons between natural and man made stones on this forum. Please make sure the topic does not veer into that direction or we will need to close the thread.

 

[LD]

I hope this stays within the rules!

Chrissa - "crappy" moissanite is what most gem collectors think of it in general as it's man-made and nothing rivals the beauty of a natural diamond. Moissanite is also not good because it can "fool" some diamond testers because as Rick said above, it conducts the same amount of heat. This is also why there is some confusion as to whether it's natural or a sim.

The history of natural Moissanite is actually quite interesting (taken direct from the internet):

Moissanite got its name from Dr. Henri Moissan, a Nobel Laureate. In 1893, Dr. Moissan detected diamond-like deposits in a 50,000 year-old meteor from Diablo Canyon, Arizona. The mineral he found is silicon carbide. In 1905 this compound was named Moissanite in his honor. Moissanite is extremely rare in nature. In the 1980s, a company named Cree Research developed a process to grow large silicon carbide crystals. 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. Scientists from Cree Research and Charles & Colvard began a three-year mission to bring Moissanite to the general public.


Because natural Moissanite does occur in nature, it is understandable why many non-gem enthusiastics think that it's a natural stone from a meteor when in actual fact they will be purchasing a simulant. It's a clever (but misleading) marketing ploy in some cases.

I don't know anybody who has a natural one - I'm sure somebody on this board has - but would love to see a photo!

 

[Deia]

Chrissa, hard to go into detail while sticking to the rules here.... You are right, all moissanite comes from C&C. However not all moissanite is the same, just like not all diamond is the same. You have better quality ones (by that I mean, better colour and cut). The stuff directly from C&C can be hit or miss, the better vendors select their stones themselves and send the crappy ones back to C&C. Moissanite does fool old diamond testers, but most jewelers should have a moissanite tester that distinguishes it between diamond.

I'm gonna leave it there because I wanted to answer your question but also don't want to push the boundaries here anymore.

 

[iLander]

Sorry, Ella!

I was confused and I thank everyone for clearing it up; the answer is it's both! I was very confused, because as everyone noted, there are websites which seem to want to confuse you.

As for my post-1960's preferences; I think it's mostly lack of sophistication on my part. I got my gem preferences from my grandmother, who was old-world European, and her favorites wear what you'd typically see in a Victorian-era jewelry store: emerald, ruby, sapphire, aquamarine, and amethyst. I have a citrine and a tourmaline, but I think Grandma would just view them with suspicion. She really wasn't all that sold on diamonds.

She once showed me a bracelet that my grandfather had given her (big, medium blue stone, 1940's hallmarks) and said with disdane; ""Eet iz a zircon". I really should have that thing tested, since I'm not sure what it is, but if it's a real zircon, that's pretty cool. Or she could have just meant it's fake, but I digress . . .

So, the voice in my head is my grandma, and she always looks over my shoulder when I'm buying jewelry.

 

[iLander]

Ugh, my last post was the thirteenth post.

Adding another so I don't end on that note.

Spit, spit, spit, turn around three times . . .

 

[deorwine]

Lee, thank you for that post -- I hadn't even realized it, but I had always confused morganite and kunzite and thought morganite was the one that faded!

 

[partgypsy]

I guess I should have been more clear, that moiss is a man-made gemstone, though there are are small natural specimens (ie in meterorites), just not at the gemstone size/quality. The ones you are looking at did not come from a meterorite!

 

[txgreeneyes]

Lee, thank you for that post -- I hadn't even realized it, but I had always confused morganite and kunzite and thought morganite was the one that faded!

Even natural imperial topaz can fade.

I'm sure there are other gems that can fade.

 

[Richard M.]

I hadn't even realized it, but I had always confused morganite and kunzite and thought morganite was the one that faded!

There's an interesting connection between the names Kunzite and Morganite. Kunzite is the lilac-to-purplish variety of the mineral spodumene while Morganite, as mentioned, is the pink-orangeish variety of beryl named after wealthy industrialist J. Pierpont Morgan.

J. Frederick Kunz for whom Kunzite is named, was the intrepid gem buyer for Tiffany & Co. in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He traveled all over the world searching for new gems that could be sold through Tiffany and he introduced many, like demantoid garnet from Russia. Morgan was an avid gem enthusiast and donated lots of money to Kunz to finance his worldwide gem expeditions. Kunz repaid the favor by helping to coin the variety name Morganite for pink beryl when he introduced it at Tiffany.

Richard M. (Rick Martin)