Moissanite and Charles & Colvard History

What is Moissanite? Where did it come from? Fifty thousand years ago, a meteorite crashed into the Arizona desert, creating what is now known as a "crater." Fragments of this meteorite are scattered across the desert. Hidden within these fragments is a wonderful secret waiting to be discovered. In 1893, Nobel laureate Henry Moissan began studying this meteorite fragment near Diablo Canyon. In these fragments, Dr. Mosan discovered traces of sparkling new minerals with a fire and brilliance never seen on Earth. After extensive research, Dr. Moissan concluded that the mineral is made of silicon carbide.

In 1905, renowned Tiffany & Co. gemologist and mineralogist George Kunz suggested that the new gem be named moissanite in honor of Dr. Moissanite. Despite this astonishing discovery, with so few naturally occurring moissanite, it will take another century for this stunning mineral to become the dazzling gem it is today.

In the late 1980s, inspired by Dr. Moissan's discoveries, a North Carolina company called CREE developed a proprietary process for the production of large single crystals of moissanite.

In the summer of 1995, the crystal of Moissanite, a master diamond cutter, could be made. From there, scientists from Charles & Cold at CREE began to emerge one after another with bright new stars and eventually three jewels. Years of research project to bring the fire and brilliance of Moissanite jewelry to oil consumption