Moissanite Loose Stones
and Fine Moissanite Jewelry

The Four Cs

If you know much about diamonds, you know that diamonds are graded according to what is commonly known as the "Four Cs."

The Four Cs consist of:

• Cut, which affects a diamond's brilliance, as brilliance relies on light optics and the ideal angles to produce the maximum effect. A deeply cut stone will affect the way light reflects in the mass of the diamond. A very shallow cut stone will seem dark because the light exits the back of the stone and the angles do not reflect the light back up through the top of the stone to your eye. The cut is everything.
  
• Clarity, which is determined by the amount and severity of inclusions and blemishes visible under 10-power magnification. It means how clear or pure a diamond is. Inclusions generally refer to natural impurities or markings that are present within the diamond. Blemishes generally refer to scratches, chips, nicks, etc., that affect the surface.
  The clarity grading scale is as follows:
  • Flawless (FL): No inclusions or surface blemishes.
  • Internally Flawless(IF): No inclusions, insignificant blemishes.
  • Very, Very Slightly Included (VVS1-VVS2): Very, very small inclusions difficult to see under 10X magnification.
  • Very Slightly Included (VS1-VS2): Very small inclusions somewhat easy to see under 10X. Moissanite is comparable to this grading.
  • Slightly Included (S1-S2): Inclusions noticeable and easy to see under 10X.
  • Imperfect (I1-I3): Medium to large inclusions that are usually obvious with the unaided eye.
    
• Color, the less color a diamond shows (i.e., the whiter it appears), the better diamond it is. The exception includes extremely valuable "fancy colored diamonds" and less expensive enhanced "irradiated" stones.
  The color grading scale ranges from D to Z and is as follows:
  • D,E,F - Colorless: Very expensive and very rare.
  • G,H,I,J - Near colorless: Often appears colorless when mounted. The average consumer will not detect any color in an unmounted G, H, I unless it is compared to a D, E, F. Most consumers can begin to recognize a subtle color around "J".
  • Moissanite is comparable to a I-K color grading.
  • K,L,M - Faint Yellow: Slight color identified in stones larger than one-half carat.
  • N-R - Very Light Yellow, S-Z - Light Yellow: In this range you get stones with a light brown color called "champagne" and a darker brown called "cognac", both can be very attractive if it has good clarity and cut.
    
• Carat, which is the traditional measuring unit of a diamond's weight (1 carat = 200 milligrams). A carat is divided into 100 "points," so the same diamond can be represented as weighing a carat and a half, 150 points or 1.50 carats. Moissanite is lighter in weight than a diamond so it is best to refer to it in millimeters only. For example, a 3 carat diamond, which follows the accepted diamond dimension requirements, and an identically cut Moissanite stone, will weigh approximately 2.72 carats.

Moissanite jewels are inspected by trained graders and are scored on a scale specific to moissanite. All of the jewels sold are of "very good" quality, so unlike some other jewels, you will not find moissanite that is off-color or visibly imperfect. All of the jewels sold are of good color and are "eye clean," meaning you cannot see imperfections with the naked eye. Because its physical properties are different than a diamond, moissanite is not graded in the same manner. Cut and carat weight are fairly similar, but moissanite weighs differently than diamond, so it is not an "apples-to-apples" comparison. The retail cost of moissanite is based upon the cost of the gold and the setting in addition to the cost of the jewel. As a general rule, with all other things being equal, a moissanite retails for about 1/10th the cost of a diamond.