CEYVI / Before you buy
MOISSANITE,
EXPLAINED.
What the stone actually is, why a 6.5 mm stone is sold as one carat,
and what the grading letters on a listing do and do not tell you.
01 / The stone
What moissanite is
Moissanite is silicon carbide, grown in a lab. The mineral was first identified in a meteorite crater in the 1890s, which is where the stories come from, but natural moissanite is far too rare to make jewelry out of. Every stone sold as moissanite jewelry, here and everywhere else, is grown.
That matters in one practical way: it is a stone in its own right, not a coating over something cheaper and not a treated version of another mineral. There is no layer to wear through.
It is about 9.25 on the Mohs hardness scale, against 10 for diamond and about 8 for cubic zirconia. That gap at the bottom is the one you feel over years of wear — cubic zirconia tends to go dull, moissanite does not.
It also bends light more than diamond does, which produces noticeably more coloured flashes. Some people choose moissanite for exactly that and some find it too much. It is worth looking at a stone in daylight before committing to a large one.
02 / Size
Carat weight and stone size are not the same question
Listings quote carat weight. What you actually see on a hand is the diameter. The two are linked, but not the way most people assume.
Moissanite is roughly 12% less dense than diamond. A stone cut to the width of a one-carat diamond therefore weighs less than one carat. Rather than publish a number nobody could compare against anything, the trade quotes diamond equivalent weight — the size the stone looks like. When a listing here says one carat, it is describing a stone about 6.5 mm across.
| Diameter | Quoted as | How it reads |
|---|---|---|
| 3.0 mm | 0.10 ct | A small accent, the size used across a pavé line |
| 4.0 mm | 0.25 ct | Reads as a stone rather than a sparkle, still discreet |
| 5.0 mm | 0.50 ct | The usual everyday stud |
| 6.5 mm | 1.00 ct | The one-carat look most listings are built around |
| 7.0 mm | 1.25 ct | Noticeably larger than a one-carat, still easy to wear |
| 8.0 mm | 2.00 ct | A statement stone; check the setting height for daily wear |
| 9.0 mm | 2.75 ct | Large enough that the setting matters as much as the stone |
These are approximate and apply to round stones. A fancy cut of the same quoted weight covers a different amount of finger, and a halo of small stones around a centre one looks larger than its centre stone alone. Check the measurements on the individual product page.
03 / The listing
Reading D colour and VVS
Moissanite listings borrow the diamond scales. D is the top of the colour scale and means no visible tint. VVS is a clarity grade meaning inclusions are very hard to see even under magnification.
Those letters describe what the supplier states about the stone. We publish what the supplier states and nothing beyond it, and we do not restate a supplier's grade as an independent assessment. Where an individual piece comes with a grading card, that is noted on that piece's own product page rather than promised for the collection.
The practical reading: at these sizes and in these settings, colour and clarity grades are far less likely to change what you see than the stone's diameter and its cut are.
04 / The metal
What 925 sterling silver means for wear
Sterling silver is 92.5% silver, with the remaining 7.5% usually copper for strength — that is what the 925 stamp records. It is a real precious metal setting rather than a plated base metal.
The trade-off is tarnish. The copper reacts with air and with skin over time and leaves a darker film. It is not damage and it is not wear: a silver polishing cloth takes it off. Storing pieces dry and closed away slows it, and taking a piece off before swimming, showering, exercising and handling cleaning products does more than anything else.
Some pieces are plated over the silver in a white or yellow tone. A plating is a surface and it wears; how fast depends on the piece and on how hard it is worn, so we make no lifetime claim for any finish. Each product page states what that piece is.
05 / Straight answers
Questions people ask about moissanite.
These describe moissanite and sterling silver as materials. Anything specific to one piece — its stone size, its setting, its finish — is on that product page.
What is moissanite?
Moissanite is silicon carbide, grown in a lab. It was first identified in a meteorite crater, but effectively all moissanite sold as jewelry is made rather than mined. It is its own stone, not a coating, a filler or a treated version of something else, and it does not wear out or cloud over.
Is moissanite the same as cubic zirconia?
No. They are different materials with different hardness. Moissanite is about 9.25 on the Mohs scale, close to diamond at 10, while cubic zirconia is about 8. In practice that is why a CZ tends to dull with everyday wear and a moissanite does not. Moissanite also bends light more than a diamond does, which is what gives it the extra flashes of colour people either like on sight or do not.
Why is a 6.5 mm stone sold as one carat?
Because the category quotes diamond equivalent weight. Moissanite is roughly 12% less dense than diamond, so a stone cut to the diameter of a one-carat diamond weighs less than one carat. Rather than quote a number nobody could compare, the trade quotes the size the stone looks like. When a listing here says one carat, it is describing a stone about 6.5 mm across.
What do D colour and VVS mean on a listing?
They are the supplier's grading of colour and clarity, borrowed from the diamond scales. D is the top of the colour scale, meaning no visible tint; VVS means inclusions are very hard to see even under magnification. We publish what the supplier states for each piece and nothing beyond it. Where a piece has a grading card, that is noted on its own product page.
Will a 925 sterling silver setting tarnish?
It can. Sterling silver is 92.5% silver with the remainder usually copper, and that copper reacts with air and skin over time to leave a darker film. It polishes off with a silver cloth and it is not damage. Storing a piece dry and away from air slows it down, and taking it off before swimming, showering and cleaning helps more than anything else.
Can a moissanite ring be resized?
Not here. These rings are made in a finished size, and we do not offer a resizing service, so the size you order is the size you get. Measure before ordering rather than estimating from another ring, and read the ring size guide if you are between sizes.
Next
Before you order
Rings are made in a finished size and we do not resize them, so measure properly rather than estimating from another ring.