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In 1893 a French scientist, Henry Moissan, was scuffling around in a meteor crater in Arizona, when he discovered a small deposit of beautiful gemstones.
He initially mistook it for diamonds due to its hardness and crystal-like appearance. It took him years of research and study to notice the difference in composition.
Moissanite is a terrific gemstone choice for an engagement ring and any fine jewellery.
They look, pretty much, exactly like high-end diamonds, and have become the go-to choice for a growing number of couples across the globe.
Mr Moissan went on to win the venerable Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and also had the gemstone officially, and humbly, named after himself.
In its “natural” form moissanite is extremely rare. So rare that almost 50 years passed after its initial discovery and correct classification before another deposit was found.
Realising the potential of bringing this striking gemstone to the fine jewellery world a few scientists and geologists got to work in the 1980s to perfectly create moissanite in a laboratory.
And so, 103 years after its discovery moissanite was introduced to the jewellery market in 1995, and has since grown to be the gemstone of choice for many engagement ring and fine jewellery shoppers.
As you can read into Mr Moissan’s story, diamonds and moissanite look alike – even to a gemologist.
But we can take this one step further… even a digital diamond testing device will measure it as a diamond. Ask for a demo when you pop in!