Rocksday

Moissanite

Natural silicon carbide — extremely rare in nature. Moissanite sold in jewelry is lab-made.

Moissanite specimen
Photo: Andrew Silver, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify moissanite

  • Harder than everything except diamond.
  • Very strong rainbow fire in cut stones.
  • Facet edges look doubled.

Often confused with

Where it's found

  • Canyon Diablo meteorite, Arizona
  • Traces in kimberlite and meteorites

Uses

Diamond alternatives in jewelry; silicon carbide is also an abrasive and semiconductor.

Rock tumbling

Not suitable for tumbling.

Did you know?

Henri Moissan discovered it in 1893 in fragments of the meteorite that formed Arizona's Meteor Crater.

Think you could spot it from a blurry close-up?

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