written by Jessica

Lab Grown Diamond Engagement Ring vs. Moissanite

Let’s talk about one of the hottest questions being asked right now.

“Should I make a moissanite or lab grown diamond engagement ring?"

Lean in. Madam Maestro Majestic Mariam walks us through it. (This is not her official name, but if you call her by any of these I think she’d answer to it 😎)

So let’s break this question down.

Moissanite for an Engagement Ring

Moissanite is a gemstone. It is lab created, and is made out of silicon carbide. On the MOHS scale of hardness, moissanite is a 9.25, and diamond is a 10. Both extremely hard stones! Nothing to worry about there.

What you’ll notice with a moissanite is it sparkles in a way that really has a complete rainbow spectrum of its own. It refracts light faster than a diamond, which is why you’ll see reds, blues, purples, and greens dance across the facets of this white palette stone. It’s quite magical. Marvelous Mariam calls it the unicorn stone

moissanite misconceptions

Okay Mademoiselle Mariam’s pet peeve is when the internet feeds us info like: “Moissanite is just like a diamond but cheaper!” False alert! Misinformation alert! Moissanite is nothing like a diamond. It’s a beautiful stone completely unique to itself. As many clients that we’ve had that prefer diamond, there’s that many clients who want moissanite.

Here. We’ll let the moissanites speak for themselves:

Lab grown diamond for an engagement ring

Lab grown diamonds are made out of carbon. As the name tells us they are created in the lab the same way you would find grown in nature, without the billion year timeline (Phew!). A lab grown diamond will take 2-3 months to form. Diamonds are the the most transparent substance on earth which means you’re going to see a lot of depth when you look into the stone. You’re not going to get the same color refraction as the moissanite, the lab diamond is more reflecting out its environment while the moissanite refracts light from the silicon carbon material itself.

Our clients will prefer a lab grown diamond engagement ring when they’re really able to identify that transparency and depth.

lab grown vs moissanite for your engagement ring:

how to decide.

1. Figure out your top priority:

If it's budget:

Moissanite is way more affordable than diamond, even lab grown diamond.

Lab grown diamond is way more affordable than natural diamond, and moissanite is way more affordable than lab grown.

Lab grown diamonds are made out of carbon. As the name tells us they are created in the lab the same way you would find grown in nature, without the billion year timeline (Phew!). A lab grown diamond will take 2-3 months to form. Diamonds are the the most transparent substance on earth which means you’re going to see a lot of depth when you look into the stone. You’re not going to get the same color refraction as the moissanite, the lab diamond is more reflecting out its environment while the moissanite refracts light from the silicon carbon material itself.

Our clients will prefer a lab grown diamond engagement ring when they’re really able to identify that transparency and depth.

If sparkle's where it's at:

Here’s the thing. If you don’t like that characteristically moissanite rainbow sparkle, even if it’s affordable, it’s a waste of your money. This is about what you love.

Size.

Okay so size is your biggest priority.

The added benefit with moissanite is you can go bigger in size and still be within your budget range. With a lab grown diamond you may be sacrificing size for a bigger price tag.

The design.

What if you want to dedicate a lot of your budget to the ring design, and less on the center stone itself? Let’s say you love elaborate designs and want to include more stones in the ring than the center stone itself.

Moissanite would be a great option for that. This way you can focus on the design and aesthetic of the ring as a whole.

2. Compare the stones side by side.

We’ll show the stones side by side and you can try them on in different lighting at the studio to see which sparkle you favour.

Marigold Mariam often compares the stones to flowers. Let’s take rose and a peony as an example. Gorgeous and valuable in their own right! But a rose is not a peony, and peony, definitely not a rose.