Since the early 1900s, diamonds have become the #1 choice for engagement rings when British company De Beers introduced diamonds to the world through one of their major marketing campaigns.
"Diamonds are forever" is a slogan that we are all familiar with and it is one of the many successful slogans that De Beers used throughout the decades of well-targeted marketing. Yet it was not just the marketing alone that did the job as a diamond is indeed the best stone we know. In this post, we'll cover all the major alternatives for diamonds known in the present times.
Why Diamonds?
Diamonds are superior in all aspects such as hardness, sparkle, brilliance etc. They strongest natural material known to humans, subsequently explaining the saying "Diamonds are forever". But don't worry, we'll keep this brief and share why the other stones are not good options.
Tip: Even though diamond is the strongest material in the world, it must be treated with care. If you knock your ring a bit too hard, you could damage the girdle of your diamond or worse - lose the diamond at all since the safety mechanism of the setting could get battered as well.
Why not Moissanites?
The main reason why is because moissanites are not as hard as diamonds. In fact, diamonds are 4 times harder than moissanites.
These stones are not white. Most moissanites are low in colour on average when compared to a diamond colour grading. Most moissanites have a brown tint which really catches the eye in dim light as this tint makes them look dark.
Moissanites' sparkles are iridescent in colour. Diamonds' sparkles are white. Those rainbow-like sparkles do hit the eye and evoke the impression of costume jewellery.
Moissanites have double refraction. This means that when one looks at a moissanite from the top, they will see where the facets join. Thus, instead of seeing just one line - the join, there are two - two joins. For a more in depth read, please check our full article on diamonds VS moissanites.