Diamond vs. Moissanite vs. Cubic Zirconia
Finding Your Perfect Gem
When selecting an engagement ring, understanding the differences between diamonds, moissanite, and cubic zirconia is crucial. Here’s a simple guide from Adora Luxe to help you make an informed choice.
Lab Diamond
Diamonds are naturally occurring gems made from carbon. They are renowned for their unmatched hardness (10 on the Mohs Scale), brilliant sparkle, and timeless appeal. Diamonds are often more expensive due to their rarity and durability.
| Most expensive |
|---|
|
Hardness: 10 (Mohs Scale) |
|
High brilliance and white sparkle |
|
Extremely durable |
|
Material: Carbon |
Moissanite
Moissanite is a unique gemstone with an out-of-this-world origin. Discovered in a meteorite crater, moissanite is now primarily lab-made. While it closely mimics the appearance of a diamond,
there are distinct differences:
| Most affordable |
|---|
|
Hardness: 9.25 (Mohs Scale) |
|
Moderate brilliance |
|
Durable but can scratch |
|
Material: Silicon carbide |
Cubic Zirconia
Cubic zirconia (CZ) is a lab-created gemstone made from zirconium dioxide. It is designed to look like a diamond but has different physical properties. CZ scores 8.5 on the Mohs Scale, making it less durable than diamond and moissanite but still a popular and affordable choice.
| Most expensive |
|---|
|
Hardness: 8.5 (Mohs Scale) |
|
High brilliance and white sparkle |
|
Extremely durable |
|
Material: Zirconium oxide |
MOISSANITE COLOR
Adoras’s offers moissanite jewellery stones in the colorless range. The GIA has developed a color grading scale which is commonly used in diamonds, and the same scale can be applied to Moissanite. Grades D, E, F are the colorless options we offer.
MOISSANITE CLARITY
Clarity grade indicates the number of imperfections, known as inclusions. Nearly all gemstones have inclusions, but luckily for moissanite, most of its inclusions are not visible to the naked eye and require intense magnification to be seen.
Moissanite’s clarity is graded depending on the number of inclusions the stone has.
These grades can be brown down into five easy to understand categories:
Moissanite Cut Grade
Cut grade denotes how well a stone is cut and with grades ranging from Excellent to Poor. With excellent cut grades, light can best travel throughout the stone and sparkle. Alternatively, poorly cut stones will not allow light to effectively travel throughout the stone, resulting in a lifeless looking moissanite. The grade chart for cut is simply:
Moissanite Carat Weight
For diamonds, carat weight refers to how heavy the stone is. However, moissanite is less dense than diamonds which makes the two stones difficult to compare by weight. Due to the density difference, a moissanite’s “carat weight” is denoted by the stone’s size in millimeters. For example, a one-carat diamond is comparable to a 6.5mm moissanite.