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My FFI and I are looking at diamond alternatives, and I've already fallen in love with some of the designs on moissaniteco.com. I am hoping someone can give me some stories of their dealing with them. I've never heard of moissanite before today, and I'm in Australia, so I don't know if its just becasue its less common here.
also if anyone has pictures of their moissanite ring I'd love to see them! (never say no to some ring porn, lol)
I'm actually curious to see answers to this as well. I was just looking on that exact site a few days ago.
I am pretty sure I will buy my ring from this site, the testemonials are fantastic, and the prices mean I can have my dream 1.5ct cushion cut with halo, instead of a .5ct solitaire diamond.
Roux - Post again (or PM me) and let me know how it goes.
I wonder if you and I are coveting the same ring LOL!
I would strongly advise that you put in a bit of time researching moissanite with UNbiased sources (don't take what the vendors tell you as fact). There's a little info to be found on the pricescope.com forums (this is a site dedicated to diamond knowledge and has many gem experts that frequent the forum). Some basic things to keep in mind are that, while nowhere near the price per carat of diamonds, a somewhat large moissanite like you mentioned is still going to cost you a good chunk of cash. One of the biggest concerns with these stones is that moissanite is NOT a very strong substance and has potential to chip. One chip, and there goes your several hundred dollars down the drain. (Diamonds, for reference, are one of the hardest substances known to man.) Moissanite also has very little resale value. The color of a stone the size you want also will not appear as colorless as a smaller one. These are only some of the things to consider when looking into any simulated stone or diamond alternative, but it really is important to try not to let the hype influence you and research things for yourself. Best of luck!
I didn't buy a ring from moissaniteco.com but I'm going to buy earrings from them! My engagement ring IS a moissanite, however. My FI found a local jeweler that sells them.
I also agree on doing your research, but keep in mind that moissanites are harder than sapphires or rubies, other stones commonly used in engagement rings. (They are a 9.25 on the Mohs scale, diamonds are a 10, rubies/sapphires a 9).
In any event, "chipping" is not a good measure because diamonds chip as well. In fact, the harder the stone the more likely they are to CHIP (because they're more brittle). I was surprised to find this out too. So yes, your diamond ring CAN chip, and even more so if it's a non-round cut (has any sharp corners, like a princess cut does).
I actually chipped my moissanite center stone in my engagement ring. I am REALLY harsh with my rings/hands (always falling, tripping, smacking my arm into walls as I walk ...) and since I had it insured, I just called the insurance company and they gave me a check for the cost of a new one. The jeweler set it on my ring and gave us the chipped one and reset it on a pendant. It was a tiny chip and you cannot see it at all on the pendant, and now I have both stones!
I'm happy we got a moissanite. We couldn't have afforded a big diamond and I didn't want to spend that much money on a ring anyway. I love my ring!
Thanks for the info ladies! It's nice to have some perspective (especially from someone who has one). I'll have to see if any of my local jewelers do moissanite, it would probably be easier to judge sizes in person anyway, I don't want some crazy big thing that looks ridiculous!
@bluebook - Let us know how the service is after you order!
I can't afford the earrings right now (have to pay wedding bills first :) but I'll say they were SUPER helpful in answering my emails when I almost ordered my wedding band with them! They also sell "loose" moissanite. By the way, to find my jeweler, I went to moissanite.com and entered my address. I would recommend a physical jeweler but definitely BARGAIN with them, they mark up moissanite way too much (and it's been my experience you should bargain with jewelers anyway, they expect it).
Having a physical jeweler is great because anytime I drop by he polishes/replates my ring for free. Otherwise you'd be paying $15-20 each time to someone and that stuff adds up!
BTW - here is my e-ring and band (and FI's band, I picked the up yesterday from getting engraved). Only the center stone is moissanite, the rest are very nice (VVS2, G) diamonds.
Thanks for all the replies bees!
@bluebook- your rings are so pretty!
I have definately done a lot of research, about how moissanite can appear green/grey in certain lights and about chipping. The setting I like has a halo so the stone would be a bit more protected.
The thing I really like is that my dream ring with 2 wedding bands (and customised to be two tone yellow/white gold) is less than $2000USD including shipping to Australia. Where the same rings but with diamonds would be $10,000-15,000USD.
Moissaniteco.com also have a 30day return policy if I don't like it.
If I end up getting one I will definately write a review.
Thanks for the opinions girls, keep them coming!
I had looked into this as well because I didn't want to support the diamond industry. However, I learned that the reason diamonds are the standard for wedding rings is that they truly last forever. A dimond ring can be a family heirloom passed down for generations... the value & longevity of moissanite over time is questionable. If what you want is a BIG stone that has the flash of an expensive diamond ring, then moissanite is a good alternative. However, for me what I wanted was a small, simple & comfortable e-ring and a small 1/2 ct diamond (for less than $1000) was perfect for me!
I have a moissanite and I love it! I got it from moissaniteco.
Despite what SOME say, the facts remain. Moissanite is 9.25 on the mohs scale. I have bumped my ring pretty hard and no scratches have happened. It is super durable. It also sparkles beautifully.
I went with a 1 carat stone with channeled stones on the prongs. I think a lot of people bad-mouth moissanite because they don't know the facts. I was nervous ordering online. There's a trust that goes into that. The more I read about moissanite the more I thought it was too good to be true. I can honestly say my ring exeeds my expectations. It is gorgeous, durable, catches more light than any diamond I've ever seen, and the best part is it was only about 800 dollars and I know exactly where it came from.
I looked into gemstone options, but was too scared they would chip or scratch.
Here are pictures.
ering1.1.JPG (40.8 KB, 855 downloads) 2 years old my_ring.jpg (21.6 KB, 806 downloads) 2 years old 
It's not from moissaniteco.com, but my ring is moissanite and I LOVE it! No one can tell it's not a diamond. All they do is comment on how much is sparkles. I love it and love the fact that we didn't have to break the bank to get me a beautiful ring. Also, my ring doesn't look green or grey in certain light.
Here's my old engagement ring, it's a moissanite 2.16 ctw and I loved that bad boy.... the ex-fiance is selling it, let me know if anyone is interested (i soo had to put that out there, i know he's trying to get rid of it)
You can check out the video for it here (he got it from HSN)
http://jewelry.hsn.com/moissanite-round-3-stone-14k-ring_m-10022491_xp.aspx?webp_id=2368404&web_id=2368404&sf=j&dept=j00060&ocm=j|j00060&prev=hp!sf!dept&ccm=j|j00060
I created an account just to post on this board. My engagement ring is from moissaniteco.com and I LOVE IT! My ring is a 1.25 solitaire in white gold. I get so many compliments on my ring and how beautiful (and big) it is! Little do they know, we only paid $600 for it!
My fiance said when he received the ring he was so jealous at how pretty it was that he decided he wanted his wedding band from moissaniteco.com also. I talked to a staff member there today regarding placing my stone in a different moissanite setting and they were very nice and helpful. I have attached the only picture I currently have of my ring. I hope this helps you!
Photo_15.jpg (59.4 KB, 641 downloads) 2 years old 
My ring is from moissaniteco.com also. They were reasonable to deal with, but they start making your ring after they take your order, so it takes a few weeks for the ring to arrive.
My ring is palladium and has a 1 ct. center stone with blue moissanite sidestones. It's very sparkly and pretty, and walks the line between traditional and non-traditional well. If you're interested, I wrote a long post about how I came to choose moissanite as the gemstone for my engagement ring here:
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/engagement-rings-make-sure-it-is-conflict-free
E-ring_closeup_jpg.jpg (24.9 KB, 520 downloads) 2 years old 
I am going to go with moissanite and I think all of the negative comments out there is a racket made by the diamond sellers. The quality of this gemstone just keeps getting better and better and is GORGEOUS in person. I am glad to see all this feedback from people who have gotten their stones online and are happy with them! I am getting my custom designed moissy from PromoLK.com and couldn't be more excited!
Oh, and it can definitely be passed down as a family heirloom--
People pass down sapphires and emeralds, which are softer than diamonds. Moissanites are very hard, nearly as hard as a diamond. And honestly moissanites have SO MUCH FIRE. I mean, in some lights, it's like a rainbow explosion. (My ring looks amazing under restaurant lighting.)
I think the main thing is not to think of it as a substitute for a diamond. Just think of it as a gorgeous stone that is very durable. I tell people all the time that mine is a moissanite, a stone which was originally came from a meteor. Ha, then they usually seem interested rather than confused :)
And you can always order it, wear it for a week and if you decide you don't want it you can return it.
We bought our band from them, and they are indistinguishable from diamonds! I would highly recommend them. I couldn't afford the ring I wanted (pave diamonda both inside and out), so I went with moissanite.
I have moissanite earrings (Charles and Chovard or whatever) that were originally $800 at Kohl's (yeah i know!) and i bought them for I think $100 or $200. They're half carat each (total 1...) and everyoen thinks they're diamonds. They're just earrings though and I worry about losing earrings more than rings so I wanted cheap yet real looking earrings. They're cushion cut and they're really great. I didn't know about moissanite when I got engaged but heavily considered a 2 carat pendant to wear until mom busted out a something borrowed for me to wear.
But I'm quite happy with my earrings! I'd totally love a colored yellow moissanite (especially since i hear larger stones tend to have a 'tint' to them) in the future.
Are there any other engaged/married ladies out there with Moissanite rings they can post? I am greedy for the moissy porn!
ejs4y8You may have that luck with your earrings in the future.
My mom had to have her moissanite replaced at least 3 times because it yellowed so bad. She has since given up and now has an ugly yellow ring she doesn't wear.....
She gushed and raved about it for a while when she first got it.... but now, she wouldn't go near it with a 10 foot pole. Just something to consider.... Long term reviews.....
I LOVE my moissanite ring and FI and I did a lot of research about the stone before we decided. I love the look of diamonds but the industry makes me angry. I had never heard of moissanite until shortly before my engagement and I could not find a single thing I disliked about the stone.
Yes, moissanite is not as hard as a diamond but that difference is very small (9.25 on the Mohs scale, compared to 10 for diamond). Plus it surpasses diamonds in brilliance, which I guess if you hate sparkly things that could be considered a negative--it's not for me!
I'm at work so I can't post pictures, but I probably will when I get home. Good luck! 
@KLP2010 Uh oh, I hadn't heard of moissanite yellowing before. A few minutes on google doesn't turn up much to go on either. How long did your mom have the stone before it started to yellow?
@Edina yes please to the pics of your ring! I also googled the yellowing and I have NEVER heard of that... Moissanite has been around for quite a bit so if that really happens I would have expected to see something about yellowing turn up... I am still sold on getting a moissanite ring. I also found out about it just as I was searching for an e-ring. Yay for google saavy brides lol.
I think my replacement e-ring is also going to be Moissanite.
Since the stone is lab-created, techniques have improved over time to make the stone have better color an clarity. Also, there are different qualities--one bought at a low-end department store isn't going to be as nice as one bought from Moissanite & Co., for example. Perhaps KLP's mom bought a cheaper one or one a long time ago before the technology was at the state it is today? I haven't read anything about them yellowing either. I'm pretty darn sold on these stones. I can get 2 carats of fiery sparkly loveliness for $500.
@veganglam- gaaah I know what you mean about the price! Almost as beautiful as the stone itself! I love the idea of having a lovely rock and being able to save for our wedding right away!
I must say though, I wish there was more education out there about this gem. I have seen some ridiculous claims about it being made with diamond dust, being a fake diamond, and the whole coloring issue - which is now moot because of improvements in technology. Man, I could sell this stuff!
Moissy porn sounds dirty lol
I figure by the time my moissanite earrings yellow (if they do), i can probably afford the real thing =]
@ejs- Gahahaha... I wasn't intending to sound dirty, but you're right. It sounds like some scary breed of yak mating videos. and you bring up a good point, if something terrible befalls your stones, ie: yellowing, chipping, or loss, it wont break your bank to replace them (I'm a clutz so this is a good thing!). Whew!
I've never heard of moissy going yellow. Some types do have more of a tint to them as do certain cuts and sizes. I think it's a great option for those who want a diamond look but don't want a diamond for whatever reason.
It's also made of carbon, the same thing as diamonds or at least similar to a diamond. Just something to think about for everyone who has negative things to say about it.
There are also real lab made diamonds now, which is another route to go. They're fairly expensive though, don't come in large sizes and mostly just come in colors (yellow, blue, pink).
Anyway, yay for moissy! lol...
My boyfriend and I have also done a ton of googling on moissanite and moissaniteco.com. We looked for the bad reviews as well as the good and decided the postive feedback from this site FAR outweighed any bad. I think I saw maybe one bad review out of hundreds. We were really nervous about buying a ring online sight unseen but finally decided to take a leap of faith and order one! We should be getting the ring within the next week or so and I'll be sure to come back to this post with pictures and a review of our overall experience with moissaniteco.com. Happy ring hunting everyone!
Sorry, I have nothing against moissanite stones but I did want to point out something...the Mohs hardness scale is purely ordinal, meaning there is no regular interval of hardness between 1 and 2, 2 and 3 and so on. Diamond (#10) is four times as hard as corundum (#9). So, diamond could be 3 times as hard as moissanite - I'm not completely sure that it is, but it definitely could be. The idea of the Mohs Hardness "scale" is somewhat misleading, at least in that it is not a linear function. (ah, nerd alert I suppose, sorry!)
Also: there has to be a relationship between ability to scratch, and ability to chip. I don't think diamonds are more brittle.
I also wanted to point out that there are some diamonds that are not tainted by the normal labor conditions, you can get 100% conflct free diamonds, guarenteed.
But anyway, I do think the ones posted here are beautiful! If that's how you choose to go, more power to you.
@carmel bride: 9.25 is still really, really good for hardness. It's better than virtually all other gems, excepting diamond. Diamonds are generally rated as good to exceptional for toughness (how likely it is the stone will chip or fracture; corundum, aka rubies and sapphires, and jade are three stones which are tougher than diamonds because of their lack of cleavage, which is what gives diamond only a good on its cleavage plane). Moiss is rated excellent in toughness overall, because the structure and cleavage is different, and making them in a lab means that there won't be natural flaws to weaken the stone.
How's that for nerdiness? :P
She did get it years ago, but again, it's been replaced a few times... and she spent a lot on it actually... I'm kinda surprised that there's not a lot of info of it online, because it's happened to multiple replaced stones she's had. I'm not sure what store exactly she got it from, but it was a good one.
Yay for nerds! I had assumed the scale was linear @carmel bride, thanks for the clarifications.
For me, there were other reasons besides the transparency issues with conflict diamonds to be turned off by having a diamond ring. Sadly, so many other materials are being mined and exploited by armed groups (gold, tungsten, tin, coltan) but diamonds seem to get the most attention for it.
Basically, I don't like how value of the stone was artificially inflated because "a diamond is forever." Diamonds are not as rare as DeBeers would like everybody to think.
Rock on to the many girls who don't care what people might think of their "non-traditional" engagement rings, but my own cousin was not one of these girls. Her fiance got her a lovely topaz engagement ring but she had it in her head since she was little that true love = diamond. She also felt like she had to explain herself when people saw her ring, which she probably really didn't have to apart from a couple of chronically rude people. Anyway, she ended up convincing her fiance to get her a diamond which I'm willing to bet must have hurt him at least a little bit.
Maybe the advertising has seeped into my subconcious as well, because I really love the *look* of diamonds. I was searching for white sapphire rings when I first learned about moissanite.
Minutiae - interesting! I didn't realize about the toughness...I guess that means that moissanite would be harder to chip. Thanks for explaining.
I love the sciency posts! Thanks girls! I too would have never given the mohs scale a second thought... something new to think about!
My engagement ring is from MoissaniteCo, and I couldn't be happier with it! They were extremely pleasant and helpful and quick to answer any questions I had. I was really impressed with their selection of settings, because I wanted more of an antique setting and found that my moissy setting choices were limited on some of the other companies' sites. For those worried about any weird color tints, MoissaniteCo does offer an enhancement treatment to make their stones whiter (I think it costs like $65/carat or something). I'm pretty confident that my stone would have looked absolutely beautiful without the treatment, but my fiance had it done when he ordered my ring. It sparkles like crazy! I do believe having it done voids any warrantees from Charles & Colvard, though, so that's something to keep in mind.
@LittleAudrey: I think the main thing is not to think of it as a substitute for a diamond. Just think of it as a gorgeous stone that is very durable. I tell people all the time that mine is a moissanite, a stone which was originally came from a meteor. Ha, then they usually seem interested rather than confused :)
My thoughts exactly! Couldn't have said it better myself. I love telling people that moissy is from space. That usually piques their interest :)
My ring is a 6mm (roughly the size of a 1.25 ct diamond) cushion cut:
My fiance and I settled on moissanite because of the beauty and the price. I've been researching it for months now, and I have never read anything about moissanite changing colors. Are you sure she didn't buy a CZ? Because I know those can change color with heat exposure, as well as get foggy and cloudy over time.
Also, moissanite is less likely to chip than a ruby or sapphire.
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