Is a Moissanite Engagement Ring Right for Your Bride-to-Be?

If you and your future bride are looking for an alternative to diamonds, synthetic moissanite is a brilliant choice for a beautiful engagement ring. Its physical properties, its reasonable price tag and its completely uncontroversial nature, might leave you wondering why anyone buys diamonds anymore. Whether moissanite thrills you or bores you, it is ultimately a joint decision to weigh the pros and cons of straying from the traditional diamond engagement ring.

Moissanite was originally discovered as a rare mineral. It has been found in meteorites and in upper mantle rock. The scarcity of the stone makes it impossible to mine in mass quantities the way we do diamonds, which quickly inspired researchers to create a synthetic version. Fortunately for engagement ring shoppers, creating a synthetic version did not require sacrificing quality.

Moissanite presents some competition to the diamond in terms of physical properties and shine. The stone has covalent bonding that closely resembles that of a diamond. This means that moissante is hard, which makes it more resistant to the wear and tear of every day life. While moissanite is not quite as hard as a diamond, it is much harder than any diamond imitation on the market today. What moissanite lacks in hardness, it compensates for in toughness. The synthetic stone is tougher because it is manufactured without fractures that are often found in diamonds. Moissanite also puts up a good fight against the diamond in terms of brilliance. You may be surprised to find that when comparing a moissanite solitaire with a diamond solitaire, you may prefer the former. Moissanite has a higher index of brilliance and has much greater dispersion than diamond.

While moissanite's comparability to the diamond's aesthetic properties will likely appeal to the bride-to-be, the price will surely steal the groom's heart by leaving his wallet in-tact. A price comparison on overstock.com showed that while you can get a ¾ carat total weight diamond solitaire for $899, you can get a one carat total weight moissanite solitaire for the same price tag. Keep in mind that prices may vary when you consider the quality of the diamond. In the end moissanite is likely to cost you only a fraction of the price that diamond would and you won't have to sacrifice quality.

All of this may seem very appealing to a boyfriend looking to make his girl a bride. But keep in mind that just because you like the price tag, doesn't mean the bride-to-be will like the idea of an engagement ring sans diamond. Both parties need to agree that moissanite is the route they want to take. After all, if or when you decided to upgrade, she's going to find out. If she had her heart set on diamonds, regardless of whether or not she could tell, there will inevitably be trouble in paradise.

There are still a few cons that may leave you and your bride-to-be preferring a diamond engagement ring to a moissanite ring. Diamonds are a traditional symbol associated with love and marriage. Some might find this expensive and materialistic; others may want to hold true to tradition. The brilliance of the moissanite when compared to a diamond may be a giveaway that the moissanite is an imitation-this is why brilliance may be seen as a positive trait by some and a negative trait by others. Most of the cons of moissanite are relatively superficial; as it is a beautiful and strong stone that will definitely last until death do you part.

While some alternatives to diamonds, such as cubic zirconias, leave something to be desired, moissanite provides a high quality stone that's beautiful and resilient. Also, moissanite presents no moral controversy, whereas the topic of diamond mining has been hotly debated. No matter how hard you try to compare a moissanite engagement ring to a diamond ring one or the other will always come up short. Ultimately, the decision is to be made between you and your bride-to-be, but be sure to read all of the facts before popping the question.