Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. It symbolizes many things, like purity, wealth, class, and love. However, we can’t deny the fact that diamonds are costly. So, if you prefer to be practical, Moissanite is the next best choice. 

In this guide, you will learn how GIA (Gemological Institute of America) and IGI (International Gemological Institute) establish quality grades for Moissanites. 

One thing you may want to take note of is that these quality grades can have a significant impact on a gemstone’s price and appearance. 

What’s fantastic about Moissanites these days is that most of them are created in the lab, guaranteeing top-notch quality in each of the four Cs. 

So, you may be wondering, “What happens to those that fail to meet the standards?” Well, it’s pretty simple. Moissanites that don’t meet the standards would not be released for retail sale. 

Now, let’s dig deeper into the four Cs. 

Colors

The first C is color. This refers to the natural color of the gemstone, which means any spectral color reflection due to movement is not considered in grading the quality. 

If the diamond has less color, it ranks higher in terms of rarity, and its value also increases. 

One thing you should know about Moissanite diamonds is that they come in different colors. Some popular color options are gray, yellow, green, pink, gold, purple, brown, and blue. 

Moissanites aren’t just brilliant and beautiful; they are also unique. It belongs to its own unique jewelry category, making it stand out from most gemstones on the market. 

Here are the quality grades of Moissanite based on color:

• D: absolutely colorless or icy white
• E: colorless with minuscule traces of color under 10X magnification
• F: colorless with slight traces of color under 10X magnification
• G: near-colorless with some traces of color noticeable
• H: near-colorless with slight color noticeable
• I: near-colorless with visibly detected color
• J-Z: visible, detected color

Clarity

The second C is clarity. Moissanites are closely similar to diamonds, especially those that belong to the VS grade on the GIA scale. 

Getting a VS-grade Moissanite means you would barely see the impurities on the gemstone. Even if you use jeweler’s eyeglasses with 10x magnification, you wouldn’t easily detect those impurities. 

Now, let’s go back to what clarity is—so, clarity is how clean and clear the gemstone is. This would analyze the natural microscopic characteristics that were trapped inside the gemstone during the formation process. Jewelers call these internal characteristics inclusions, and the external or surface characteristics are called blemishes. 

As mentioned earlier in this article, Moissanites are created in labs with the help of natural elements. Through a lab-controlled process, a high-quality, top-notch clarity-grade gemstone can be created. 

Here are the quality grades of Moissanites when it comes to clarity:

• FL-IF: flawless to internally flawless
• VVS1-VVS2: extremely minimal inclusions
• VS1-VS2: very slight inclusions
• SI1-SI2: slight inclusions

Cut

The third C is cut. Although cut is commonly mistaken for the shape of the gemstone, it actually refers to the balance of polish, symmetry, and proportion achieved by the cutter. 

The beauty of a gemstone has a lot to do with how well it was cut. For a gemstone to elegantly reflect and refract light, the cutter should cut it with precision and care. 

Many Moissanite shops have master technicians who can hand-cut gemstones with calibrated precision, delivering irresistible brilliance and spark. Although round cuts are the most common cut for Moissanite, you can also purchase other fancy cuts. However, they are only available in limited quantities. 

Here are the quality grades of Moissanites when it comes to the cut: 

• Ideal: exquisite quality that reflects nearly all light that enters the Moissanite gemstone
• Very good: quality cut that reflects light slightly less than the ideal cut
• Good: an average cut that reflects a decent amount of light.
• Fair: below-average cut that reflects some light

Carat

The traditional unit of measurement for diamonds is called the carat. 

1 carat = 200 milligrams

A carat is divided into 100 points. This means a diamond can be either 150 points or 1.50 carats. 

One thing you should remember about the difference between Moissanite and Diamonds is that Moissanite is 15–18% lighter than Diamonds. 

For instance, a 6.5-mm round diamond would weigh 1.0 carat, but a 6.5-mm Moissanite would only weigh 0.83-0.85 carats. Take note that those two stones would be similar in size, which is 6.5 mm in diameter—only the weight differs. 

Now that you know the four Cs of Moissanite gemstones, you can make an informed decision when making the purchase.