Pure silicon carbide, the material moissanite is made of, is colourless. Every colour you see in a moissanite comes from something added: a trace element in the crystal as it grows, or a layer put on the stone after it is cut. Which of the two it is matters more than the colour itself.
Moissanite started out coloured
The first moissanite crystals, found in a meteorite in 1893, were tiny and tinted. When grown gemstones went on sale in 1998, most still carried a faint green, yellow or grey cast. Growing truly colourless moissanite took years of refinement, which is why the colourless grades (DEF) are the ones jewellers value most. Read the history of moissanite for the full story.
The colours you'll find
| Colour | How it looks |
|---|---|
| Black | Dark and mirror-bright on the surface, with little visible fire |
| Green | From a soft mint to a deep forest green |
| Blue | Usually a pale to mid blue, sometimes close to teal |
| Yellow and champagne | Warm tones, from straw to golden |
| Pink and others | Pink, purple and red are sold, but these are most often coated |
A tinted white stone is a different thing. Near-colourless and lower grades (GH and below) are white stones with a faint warmth, which shows most in big stones and white metal. Our moissanite colour chart explains those grades.
Grown in, or added on
Grown colour comes from trace elements built into the crystal as it forms. Nitrogen tints silicon carbide green, and aluminium tints it blue. Because the colour runs right through the stone, it can't wear off, and it behaves like the rest of the stone under heat and cleaning.
Added colour is a thin coating or a treatment applied to a colourless or tinted stone after cutting. It makes bright colours cheap to produce, but a coating sits on the surface, so it can scratch, wear thin at the facet edges, or be damaged by a jeweller's torch or harsh cleaning.
Before you buy a coloured moissanite
- Ask whether the colour is grown or coated, and get the answer in writing. A seller who can't say is usually selling a coated stone.
- Look at the facet edges under magnification. Coating tends to show as a paler line or worn spots along the edges where the facets meet.
- Tell your jeweller before any work. Coated stones should come out of the ring before soldering or resizing.
- Clean it gently. Warm soapy water and a soft brush; no ultrasonic cleaner or harsh chemicals on a coated stone.
Why our range is colourless
A coloured stone is coloured because it absorbs part of the light passing through it. That absorbed light doesn't come back out as sparkle. In a colourless stone, nothing is filtered: white light goes in, splits into its full spectrum, and comes back to your eye as fire, every colour of it. That's why moissanite throws more fire than diamond, and why every stone in our range is the colourless top grade.
A colourless moissanite brings its own colour, in the flashes of red, orange, blue and green it throws in sunlight. See how each of our ten cuts handles light in which cut sparkles most, or read more on Notes on light.
Coloured moissanite on special request
If your heart is set on a coloured stone, we can source one for you. We only supply grown colour, never coated or treated stones, cut and checked to the same standard as the rest of our range, so the colour lasts as long as the stone does.
Get in touch with the colour, cut and size you have in mind, and we'll tell you what's possible, what it costs and how long it will take.
Does moissanite come in colours?+
Yes. Black, green, blue, yellow and pink moissanite are all sold. Some colours are grown into the crystal; others are a coating or treatment added after cutting.
What makes moissanite coloured?+
Pure moissanite (silicon carbide) is colourless. Colour comes from trace elements in the crystal, such as nitrogen for green and aluminium for blue, or from a coating applied after cutting.
Does coloured moissanite fade or wear off?+
Grown colour runs through the whole stone and doesn't fade. A coating sits on the surface and can scratch or wear at the facet edges over time.
Does black moissanite sparkle?+
Black moissanite has a bright, mirror-like surface lustre, but it shows little fire, because a dark stone absorbs most of the light that would otherwise be split into colour.
Do you sell coloured moissanite?+
Our range is DEF colourless, because colour filters out part of the light that gives the stone its fire. We do source grown (never coated) coloured moissanite on special request: contact us with the colour, cut and size you want.