Moissanite Jewelry
If you would like to get the facts about Moissanite and other diamond simultants before you purchase, you have come to the right place. Moissanite is NOT a Cubic Zirconia stone; it is a unique product only manufactured by Charles & Covard and sold to a hand picked group of jewelry designers.
Moissanite is available at most major department stores and fine jewelry stores across the USA with its popularity growing each day. If you are looking for Moissanite dealers you can check our dealer listing page. If you are a Moissanite retailer, you can email us to be consider for our Moissanite jewelers directory.
However, with other diamond alternatives like cubic-zirconium stones being marketed as superior to Moissanite, it is important that have the right information to make a purchasing decision.
Moissanite Jewelry
Moissanite is produced exclusively by Charles and Covard. Moissanite is one of the most popular alternatives to diamonds and priced at a fraction of what diamonds sell per carat. I commend the leadership of Charles & Covard for not confusing the public; they do not us the word "diamond" in their marketing materials to describe Moissanite. A Moissanite engagement ring is one of the most popular consumer jewelry choices as an alternative to a diamond engagement ring.
The Charles & Covard marketing materials focus on the branding of the term "Moissanite" to be its own unique product that is beautiful when set in gold, silver or platinum. They have taken the high road to providing a quality product that gives consumers and affordable entry point for brilliant and vibrant jewelry without a "bait and switch" marketing campaign. Moissanite comes in many shapes and size. If interested, you can view their Moissanite Stones chart.
Other Diamond Simultants
If you search for Moissanite using Google or Yahoo, you will see a number of websites offering competing diamond alternative products such as:
It is interesting that of the three website, Asha® Diamond Simultants website clearly states that they sell a specially processed Cubic Zirconium (CZ) product. Russian Brilliants website clearly states that their product is not a diamond but does not provide a clear statement on what their man-made "brilliant stone" is made of. The Diamond Nexus website also uses phrasing on their website, that to my mind, makes it impossible to know what type of man-made "brilliant stone" they use in their jewelry. Of course there is no requirement that such clarity exists but consumers often try to compare prices and without material information it can't be an "apples-to-apples" comparison.
The Asha website includes a report from a third party firm that claims to have tested the Diamond Nexus product. Click here to read the Diamond Nexus Review. It also seems that Russian Brilliants advertising has provoked a great deal of chatter on the Internet, click here for additional information: Russian Brilliants Review .
Questionable On-Line Marketing
There are many jewelry websites selling diamond alternative products that potentially confuse the public by using phrases such as:
- perfect man-made diamonds
- imitation diamonds
- man made diamonds
- alternative diamonds
- synthetic diamonds
The bottom line is that for most consumers, a diamond is a diamond and in our opinion retailers should NOT be using the word diamond in their marketing efforts if its not a natural diamond. If a company is selling a cubic zirconium, then they should call it a CZ or a treated CZ or a specialty cut CZ. The potential exists that a consumer could think that an inexpensive synthetic diamond is actually a perfect chemical and structural replica of a real diamond; just made in the lab.
This marketing mash-up is very similar to the well fought and won battle by the French Champagne district. For years, sparking wines in California and outside of France were labeling their wines with the word "Champagne". The French government and wine producers in the Champagne region fought hard to trademark that only sparkling wines from France's Champagne region can be called Champagne. Today, you will see the words "Sparkling Wine" on domestic bubbly and not Champagne.
In my opinion online CZ retailers should clean up their act and stop calling a cat a dog.
Moissanite Jewelry Stores
It will be our goal to identify the very best Moissanite jewelry stores across the county that practice fair advertising and practice great customer service. As we build this list, please feel free to send us your feedback and testimonials for reputable jewelers that you have purchased from. Send your comments to: brian@seonj.com.
