| |
| Economy* |
Affordable |
Affordable |
Affordable |
Moderately Affordable |
Varying greatly. Two month’s salary has been the industry calling-card since the 80’s. |
| Environment |
Not Mined |
Not Mined |
Not Mined |
Not Mined |
• Informal/Alluvial/Artisanal Mining: normally unregulated, unlicensed and little regard for environmental impact
• Open-pit/Coastal & Inland Alluvial/Marine: (Open-pit most common) One ton of earth is moved to produce a 1ct diamond. |
| Ethical |
Made in a modern lab environment |
Made in a modern lab environment |
Made in a modern lab environment |
Made in a modern lab environment |
Varying depending on origin. From ethical to horrific human rights atrocities. |
| Diamond Content |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Pros |
• Very inexpensive
• There are better quality CZ products available now.
• Great for small /accented diamonds |
• Very hard on the Mohs scale.
• Priced well |
• Priced well
• Looks like an earth-mined diamond because what you see and feel is diamond.
• Perfect clarity
• Natural diamond birthmarks |
• It is solid diamond
• Looks like an earth mined diamond because it is diamond
• Natural diamond birthmarks |
• It is solid diamond!
• Natural diamond birthmarks |
| Cons |
• Will not last, it will cloud.
• Not as hard as an earth mined diamond |
• "J to I" in color
• Double light reflective |
• Not as hard as an earth mined diamond |
• "J to I" in color
• Only small sizes avaliable, up to 1ct |
• Price
• Conflict diamonds
• Environmental impact
• The average consumer has to sacrifice carat or quality in order to purchase one within their budget. |
| Per Carat Price |
Up to $80.00 |
$525.00 |
$400.00 |
$4,000.00 |
$6500 per carat
(SI1, Colorless, VG Cut/Polish)
Varying greatly by color, cut, clarity, polish, etc. |
| Description |
A form of solid zirconium dioxide. |
Man-made solid silicon carbide, of the carbon family. Natural Moissanite is not used for jewelry because of extreme rarity and dark colors. |
Technology similar to the cultured pearl. A crystal seed (patent pending technology) is infused with an outer layer of created diamond. |
Solid, man-made, created diamond crystals. |
Diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in an isometric-hexoctahedral crystal lattice, most commonly formed in the earth and extracted through different forms of mining, “open-pit” being the most popular. |
| Tests |
Will test negative on all diamond tests |
Show positive on “thermal” diamond testing machines, but can be differentiated by its double refractive quality and “Moissanite Testers” |
Show a positive diamond signature under Raman spectroscopy, but can be differentiated by “thermal” diamond testing machines. |
Show positive on all diamond tests |
Show positive on all diamond tests |
