excellent durability

Minerals are generally represented by integer values ​​from 1 to 10 on the Mohs scale of hardness. Moissanite has a score of 9.25, which is not as high as diamond, but is highly resistant to scratches and abrasions.

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• Toughness and cleavage
  Another criterion for judging a mineral's durability is its properties of toughness and cleavage.
  Toughness refers to the resistance to chipping and cracking due to impacts, etc., and cleavage refers to the property of crystals that easily crack in layers when force is applied along a specific direction. Diamond has a cleavage property, but moissanite has carbon and silicon arranged alternately, and since cleavage is not recognized in the crystal, it is evaluated as being tougher and less likely to break than diamond.
  
  
• Heat-resistant
  When making or repairing jewelry, craftsmen use fire, heat, and various chemicals and solutions. Some gemstones change color when heated or are damaged by chemicals, so care must be taken when manufacturing or repairing them. However, moissanite is resistant to heat and chemicals, so it can be used safely in daily life as well as for manufacturing and repair.
  
  

beauty of brilliance

The brilliance of moissanite is called diamond luster, and it shines very beautifully. Sparkling iridescent fire and diamond-like white sparkle continue to fascinate people. Moissanite's brilliance is said to be slightly stronger than that of diamond, but this is related to the refractive index and dispersion of light.

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• refractive index of light
  When light hits the surface of water, a phenomenon called "refraction" occurs in which the direction of travel of the light is bent. "Refractive index" is a value that indicates the strength of refraction when light passes through a material. The higher the refractive index value, the more easily the incident light is reflected inside the material, which makes the material look brighter. Diamond has the highest refractive index of any natural material, at approximately 2.4. Moissanite has a higher refractive index than diamond, about 2.6. For this reason, moissanite has a stronger iridescent sparkle called fire and a white ray of light called brilliance than diamond.



• degree of dispersion of light
  Light is a type of electromagnetic wave, and the wavelengths that humans can perceive and see as colors are called visible light, and visible light is classified into seven basic colors. When light hits an object, we humans perceive colors by reflecting specific wavelengths. The reason why a diamond looks sparkling is because the light that is incident on the diamond and refracted is separated by wavelength when it is reflected and recognized as a color.
  Substances with a high degree of dispersion have a strong brilliance and can be seen vividly. Moissanite is said to shine brighter than diamond because diamond's dispersity is 0.044, while moissanite's is 0.104, which is about 2.3 times higher than diamond's brilliance.

affordable

Moissanite jewelry is more affordable than diamond jewelry. Compared to a diamond of the same size, it is about 1/10, making it possible to obtain beautiful jewelry at a very affordable price.

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• For example, a simple 1-carat diamond jewelry will cost between 1,000,000 and 1,500,000 yen if it is made from natural diamonds and the diamonds are of high quality.
  Lab-grown diamonds, which have the same chemical composition and optical properties as natural diamonds, cost around 300,000 to 400,000 yen, but moissanite costs around 100,000 to 150,000 yen.
  It is not uncommon to find new moissanite jewelry made from precious metals such as gold and platinum for 70,000 to 80,000 yen. Moissanite rings for proposals are also popular as bridal jewelry, such as those who want to match the budget but have a luxurious finish.
  
  

ethical and sustainable

Naturally produced diamonds are expensive gemstones and symbols of wealth.
But behind the scenes, many diamond miners suffer from poverty and human rights violations due to low-paid labor.

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• Human rights violations in diamond mining include child labor, debt repayment, forced labor, mine abuse, violence, and sexual violence.The number of victims is estimated to be about 13 million people worldwide, mainly in Africa, and it is said that more than 50 million people are facing problems when their families and related people are included.
  
  In the 1980s and 1990s, civil wars broke out across Africa. The human rights abuses were catastrophic, as rebels across Africa at the time used diamonds as a primary source of funding for their weapons purchases. In 2002, the United Nations began to face this problem, the "Kimberley Process", a legal framework for the sale of diamonds and an initiative to regulate the export of rough diamonds, which is a source of funding for conflicts, and the situation seems to have improved. However, the fact that it was profitable is still fresh in our memory.
  
  These incidents are common in countries with unstable governments, countries without clear export laws, and countries with political corruption. However, the Kimberley Process cannot systematically regulate these problems, and many multinational corporations are involved in the ownership, extraction, and distribution of diamond mines. Diamonds are mined by cutting down forest trees and digging deep holes in the ground. At mining sites that pursue only short-term profits, unreasonable mining is carried out without considering the environment, and even after mining is completed, the land is left unattended without being able to be used effectively, leading to problems such as environmental destruction and natural disasters.