Though it is impossible to produce a perfectly white moissanite stone, the fact that its dispersive power is 2.5 times greater than that of diamond makes moissanite jewelry quite spectacular. The fact that it is also quite expensive (moissanite sells at something like $520 per carat) makes it both precious and fashionable.

There is a lot of controversy about moissanite as a jewelry medium, most of it related to its high rate of fluorescence (which makes it appear gray or green under natural light). Nevertheless, because it is extremely exclusive has made it a focal point for the jewelry industry.

It took some doing to bring it to that point. Moissanite was not commercially exploitable till the company Cree Inc. (manufacturers of semiconductors) invented a viable process for synthesizing it into large individual crystals. Tipped off to the potential of moissanite in jewelry by an experienced diamond craftsman in 1995, Charles & Colvard, Ltd. tied up with Cree Inc. and launched a massive multimedia drive to popularize it.

The collaboration still holds a complete monopoly on synthetic moissanite production. Essentially, the production process it employs to make jewelry-grade moissanite stones includes cutting adequately sized