Is Moissanite a Real Diamond? What Moissanite Is and Isn't

No, moissanite is not a real diamond. It's a different gemstone: a crystal of silicon carbide, while a diamond is pure carbon. Moissanite looks very like a diamond, is almost as hard, and throws more colored sparkle, but it is its own mineral, and every moissanite you can buy today was grown in a lab.

That doesn't make it fake. Moissanite is a real gemstone with its own properties, and it's the stone in our moissanite line. This guide explains what moissanite is, where it came from, how it compares with diamond on the numbers that matter, how to tell the two apart, and when moissanite is the right buy and when it isn't.

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What is moissanite?

Moissanite is the gem form of silicon carbide, a compound of silicon and carbon. Its crystals are hard, clear and very bright, which is why, cut like a diamond, it looks so much like one.

In nature it is extremely rare. It turns up only as tiny grains, in some meteorites and a few rare rocks, far too small to cut into jewelry. So every moissanite gemstone on the market, ours included, is grown in a lab. Growers heat silicon and carbon to very high temperatures until they form large single crystals, which are then cut and polished like any other gem.

Where moissanite came from

The French chemist Henri Moissan found the first natural grains in 1893, in fragments of the Canyon Diablo meteorite from Meteor Crater in Arizona. He first thought they were diamonds. In 1904 he showed they were silicon carbide, and in 1905 the mineral was named moissanite in his honor.

For most of the 20th century silicon carbide was an industrial material, used for grinding and cutting. Growing it as large, clear, gem-quality crystals took until the 1990s. Charles & Colvard began selling colorless moissanite to jewelers in 1998, and the stone has been used in fine jewelry ever since.

Is moissanite a real diamond?

No. A diamond is carbon atoms locked in one particular crystal structure. Moissanite is silicon and carbon in a different structure. Because the chemistry is different, so are the properties: hardness, sparkle, weight and the way light passes through the stone.

This is also why "moissanite diamond" is a misleading name. You'll see it in search results and on some product pages, but there's no such thing. A lab-grown diamond is a real diamond, made of the same carbon crystal as a mined one. Moissanite is a different gem that looks like diamond, which jewelers call a diamond simulant. If you want the full breakdown of lab diamonds, read our moissanite vs lab diamond comparison.

So is moissanite fake?

Not unless someone sells it to you as a diamond. Moissanite is a genuine gemstone with its own name, properties and grading. "Fake" fits glass, or cubic zirconia passed off as something it isn't. Cubic zirconia (CZ) is a cheaper simulant again: softer, less bright and much heavier than moissanite. Our moissanite vs cubic zirconia guide covers that difference in detail.

Moissanite vs diamond: the key differences

These are the standard gemological figures for each stone:

Sparkle and fire

This is the difference most people actually see. Diamond has a balanced sparkle: lots of white light with some flashes of color. Moissanite's higher dispersion splits light into more rainbow flashes. Some people love that, and some find it too much. It's most obvious in big stones and direct sunlight. In the small stones set in chains and bracelets, it mostly reads as extra brightness.

Hardness and durability

At 9.25 on the Mohs scale, moissanite is harder than every other popular gemstone except diamond. Sapphire and ruby are 9 and cubic zirconia is about 8 to 8.5. In practice that means moissanite resists scratches from everyday dust and grit, which is what slowly dulls softer stones. It doesn't get cloudy with age either. If a stone looks dull, it's almost always lotion, soap or skin oil on the surface, which our moissanite cleaning guide takes care of.

Color and clarity

Early moissanite from the late 1990s and 2000s often had a faint yellow, green or gray tint. Today's top grades are colorless, graded on the same D-to-Z letter scale used for diamonds, with D the most colorless. Clarity uses the familiar diamond-style scale too, from FL and IF down through VVS1, VVS2, VS and SI. Moissanite is also made in colors, including black, blue, green, pink and champagne-brown shades.

Much of the moissanite sold today, ours included, comes with a report from GRA, a lab that grades moissanite, rather than from the big diamond labs. A report should list the stone's size, color and clarity and carry a number you can check. Our guide to spotting a fake GRA report shows what a real one looks like.

Price

Moissanite costs a small fraction of what a diamond of the same size does, and the gap widens as stones get bigger. That's the main reason people choose it: for the cost of a modest diamond piece, you can wear a fully iced chain. As an example, our 5mm Moissanite Tennis Bracelet, set with D color VVS1 moissanite all the way round, was $295.99 to $325.99 as of October 12, 2026. For what single moissanite stones cost, see our 1 carat moissanite price guide.

The flip side is resale value. Moissanite isn't rare, so a used moissanite piece sells for far less than you paid. Buy it to wear, not as an investment.

How to tell moissanite from a diamond

To the naked eye, at normal viewing distance, most people can't. These are the checks that work:

1. Look for doubled facets. Through a 10x jeweler's loupe, look into the stone at a slight angle rather than straight through the top. Because moissanite is doubly refractive, the back facet edges look doubled or fuzzy. Diamond's never do. Cutters orient moissanite to hide this, so you may have to tilt the stone to see it. The GIA has documented both this doubling and moissanite's extra dispersion.
2. Use the right tester. A basic diamond tester measures how fast a stone conducts heat. Moissanite conducts heat almost as well as diamond, so it passes. A multi-tester also measures electrical conductivity, which moissanite has and diamond almost never does, so it flags moissanite. More on that in does moissanite pass a diamond tester?
3. Watch it in sunlight. Stronger rainbow flashes, especially across a big stone, point to moissanite.
4. Weigh a loose stone. A moissanite is roughly 8 to 9% lighter than a diamond of exactly the same size.
5. Check the paperwork. A moissanite should come with a moissanite report, such as a GRA report. A diamond grading report from a major lab describes a diamond. If the paperwork doesn't match the stone, ask questions.

Is moissanite worth it?

Moissanite is a good fit if you want a big, bright look you can wear every day without worrying about the cost, you like a bit of extra fire, or you'd rather not buy a mined stone.

A diamond makes more sense if it matters to you that the stone is a diamond, you want something that holds value, or you don't like rainbow flashes in larger stones. In that case, a lab-grown diamond is the more affordable way to get a real diamond.

Our moissanite

Our colorless moissanite is graded D color, VVS1 clarity. Every moissanite piece ships with a GRA report and passes a standard diamond tester. We sell it as moissanite, never as diamond.

We also sell a cheaper line set with cubic zirconia, which looks the part but won't pass a tester and isn't graded. If a product title says Moissanite, it's moissanite. If you want the stone this guide is about, start with our moissanite tennis chains or our best seller, the 10mm Moissanite Clustered Tennis Chain. If you're comparing it head to head with diamond, our moissanite vs diamond guide goes deeper.

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Is moissanite a real diamond: common questions

Is moissanite a real diamond?
No. Moissanite is silicon carbide and diamond is carbon, so they're different minerals. Moissanite is a real gemstone in its own right, used as a diamond alternative.

What is moissanite made of?
Silicon carbide (SiC), a compound of silicon and carbon. Jewelry moissanite is grown in a lab, because natural moissanite only occurs as tiny grains.

Is moissanite fake?
No. It's a genuine gemstone with its own properties and grading. It's only misleading if someone sells it as a diamond.

Does moissanite pass a diamond tester?
It passes a standard heat-based diamond tester, because it conducts heat almost as well as diamond. A multi-tester that also checks electrical conductivity will identify it as moissanite.

Can a jeweler tell moissanite from a diamond?
Yes. With a 10x loupe they can spot moissanite's doubled facet edges, and a multi-tester or lab test confirms it.

Does moissanite get cloudy?
No. Moissanite doesn't cloud or change color with age. If it looks dull, it needs cleaning: warm water, a drop of mild dish soap and a soft brush.

Does moissanite come in colors?
Yes. Most moissanite sold today is colorless (D to F), but it's also made in colors such as black, blue, green, pink and champagne-brown.