Moissanite is extremely rare in nature and in very limited quantities. Thanks to advanced technology, scientists have managed to artificially reproduce it in a laboratory environment. Their brainchild turned out to be unique in beauty, combining the rarest combination of science and art
Natural Maussanite - Myth or Reality?
Despite the many disputes associated with this amazing stone, the fact that it really exists in nature is a fact. The mineral was first discovered by the French chemist Henri Moissan in 1893 in fragments of a meteorite. Initially, the scientist took his find for diamonds, since the fragments of an unknown material were amazingly brilliant. But after conducting a detailed study, he came to the conclusion that this is a mineral previously unknown to science.
For quite a long time, Henri Moissan's find was questioned, and only after this mineral was found in the mines of Yakutia in 1959, the discovery of the French scientist was officially recognized. Actually, the stone was named in his honor. However, it is worth noting that moissanite is quite common in space, but it is very rare on Earth. Therefore, the fact that it was originally found in a meteorite is not surprising.
Moissanite in contemporary jewelry
Not many people know that the stones in the products with moissanite, which jewelry stores offer to their customers today, are obtained artificially. Besides the fact that moissanite is quite rare, its natural crystals are very small, which does not allow jewelers to fully work with it.
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Edward Acheson, a chemical scientist from America, managed to create a stone, which he called carborundum. It is he who is the artificial analogue of moissanite. Its manufacturing process is very expensive, which does not allow the production of carborundum in large quantities.
According to its characteristics, artificial moissanite is close to diamond, only slightly inferior to it in hardness. But as far as the play of light is concerned, moissanite is significantly superior to diamond. Initially, carborundum had no color, but over time it began to be given various shades.
Many jewelers like to tell gullible buyers that moissanite is a stone that came from the stars. In fact, it was artificially bred in terrestrial laboratories. But this fact does not make this stone any less beautiful. Indeed, in terms of its appearance and quality characteristics, it is not much inferior to luxury diamonds.