What, exactly, is a CZ? What is Moissanite?

Personally, I love CZs (Cubic Zirconia) because they look like diamonds (NO ONE can tell just by looking!) but are very inexpensive, and I'm not giving money to the "blood diamonds" industry.  That's important to me.  I like to know where gemstones originate, just like I want to be sure my purse didn't come from a Chinese sweat shop!

I think there is a LOT of confusion about CZ.  I think people confuse CZ with Swarovski crystals, or think they're somehow lesser quality than crystals.  NOT SO!  Crystals are fine sometimes, very sparkly, but they generally LOOK just like crystals and are glued in place most often---not really diamond substitutes, in my opinion.  I think they contain lead too.  I'm not entirely cool with that.

CZ is grown in a lab-environmentally friendly.  There are a wide variety in the quality of CZ and stones are rated like diamonds---AAAAA is the highest quality.  The Mohs hardness is 8.5 for a CZ--harder than most gemstones, nearly as hard as sapphire (Mohs 9).  The rough CZ are cut like real gemstones, and in fact, diamond cutters will cut CZ as well.  Certain oxides are added in the CZ growing process to produce different colors of CZ, including new multi-colored CZ stones.

Interesting fact:  recent innovations include applying a coating of Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) on top of the CZ stone, so it will actually TEST as a diamond!  It also takes the brilliance of a CZ down a notch, because CZ are brighter than diamonds.  I'll bet the diamond industry HATES this.  Also, a thin film is sometimes applied to CZ just like on "mystic topaz" stones to give them the "rainbow" look---not so great because the mystic coating easily wears off on both CZ and topaz. 

CZ ring in my shop

So, to quote Wikipedia:

"Because of its low cost, durability, and close visual likeness to diamond,  synthetic cubic zirconia has remained the most gemologically  and economically important competitor for diamonds since commercial production began in 1976. Its main competitor as a synthetic gemstone  is the more recently cultivated material, synthetic moissanite."

Moissanite ring--courtesy of Wiki Commons

Yes, moissanite.  I see moissanite engagement rings on etsy that are THOUSANDS of dollars.  Why is that?  Moissanite *originally* was found at a meteorite crater in Arizona in 1898---a mineral that was named after its founder.  But today, Moissanite is CREATED in a lab.  It's a synthetic stone, just like a CZ is.  Since naturally occurring moissanite is so rare, lab-grown moissanite is the only commercially viable version of the mineral.

Yet, sellers claim it's a "mineral" from "a meteorite", but that is NOT TRUE.  The moissanite on the market today---all of it----is synthetic, lab-grown crystals.  Environmentally friendly, lab created stones.  NOT from a meteorite!

Moissanite was introduced into the jewelry market in 1998.  It is considered a diamond alternative that is eco friendly and ethically produced (in a lab).  It is harder than CZ, a 9.5 on the Mohs scale, so it is used in industrial applications.  However, it is very "yellow" looking as opposed to clear CZ, so I just don't "get" the whole moissanite thing.  Moissanite is graded in the "I, J, and K" range (faint yellows) on the diamond grading scale, whereas CZ is graded as "D" (colorless--the finest diamond). To me, there is just no comparison between Moissanite and colorless/flawless CZ.

But because of marketing (by Charles & Colvard---they must be the "De Beers" of Moissanite!), moissanite is very expensive---"perception is reality" I guess.

To me, a good quality simulated diamond is a good quality simulated diamond.  If you don't want to purchase a genuine diamond for whatever reason (expense, ethics, etc) then a fine CZ is the only way to go.