Moissanite is a gemstone in its own right. It was first discovered in a meteorite crater in 1893 by the French chemist Henri Moissan, who initially mistook the crystals for diamonds. Natural moissanite is vanishingly rare, so the stones used in jewellery today — including every stone we set — are created in a laboratory.
Why it sparkles the way it does
Moissanite has a higher refractive index than diamond, and more than twice the dispersion. In plain terms: it bends light more, and splits it into more colour. That is the flash of rainbow you see when it catches a light — jewellers call it fire, and moissanite has more of it than almost any other clear stone.
Moissanite is not a diamond, and we never describe it as one. It is its own stone, with its own optical character. Many people prefer it precisely because it throws more colour than a diamond does.
How it holds up
On the Mohs scale of hardness, moissanite scores 9.25. Diamond is 10, sapphire is 9. That places moissanite among the hardest gemstones available, and it means it resists scratching and everyday knocks far better than crystal, cubic zirconia or glass. It will not cloud, and it will not lose its sparkle over time.
Moissanite versus cubic zirconia
| Moissanite | Cubic Zirconia | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardness (Mohs) | 9.25 | 8.0–8.5 |
| Fire / dispersion | 0.104 — very high | 0.060 |
| Clouds over time | No | Often, within a year or two |
| Everyday wear | Excellent | Better suited to occasional wear |
This is the reason our main collection is moissanite rather than the cubic zirconia used in most jewellery at this price. It costs us more, and it lasts.
The stone testing question
Because moissanite conducts heat in a similar way to diamond, a basic thermal tester will often read it as diamond. That is a genuine property of the stone and something we are happy to demonstrate on our live shows. It does not make it a diamond — it is simply how the two stones behave under that particular test.
Our settings
Every Argenne piece is set in solid 925 sterling silver and finished in rhodium — the same plating used on white gold — which gives it a bright white surface and adds a layer of protection against tarnish.