For many decades, diamonds have been the traditional choice for engagement and wedding rings. However, other stones have recently become a much more visible and popular option for these rings. Moissanite is currently one of the most popular diamond alternatives available. Those considering Moissanite often have questions about the look, durability, and color options—but cost is also top-of-mind.
Is Moissanite expensive? Moissanite isn’t expensive when compared to the cost of diamonds. A loose Moissanite stone will often be 80-90% less expensive than a loose diamond of comparable size and quality. Total savings on a completed ring will commonly be in the range of 40-60%.
Many factors influence the price of a particular Moissanite stone. We’ll outline some of the factors that affect cost most directly in the paragraphs that follow.
Factors That Influence The Price Of Moissanite
Like diamonds, Moissanite has various grades and qualities of stones available. If you’re shopping for a Moissanite ring, you’ll want to look at the stone’s size, cut, color, and clarity. Those are the factors that can influence the cost of individual Moissanite stones most. We’ll take a look at each of those below.
How Size Influences the Price of Moissanite
Larger stones are typically more expensive than smaller stones of comparable quality. The size of many gems, like diamonds, is communicated in carats (a measurement of weight); the size of Moissanite, on the other hand, is expressed in millimeters (mm). A 6.5 mm Moissanite stone is about the same size as a 1-carat diamond. Moissanite isn’t measured in carats because it weighs about 10% less than diamonds. As a result, a one-carat Moissanite would be about 10% larger than a 1-carat diamond. To solve this, people typically use a carat equivalency based on size (ie. a 6.5mm Moissanite is the same size as a 1-carat diamond).
Because Moissanite is so much less expensive than diamonds, you could purchase a much larger Moissanite center stone for your ring than you could otherwise afford if purchasing a diamond of similar color and clarity. Some decide that they would rather have an 11.25 mm moissanite ring (equivalent to 1.5 carats), for example, than settle for a .5 carat diamond.
How Cut Influences the Price of Moissanite
Moissanite’s cut influences its light refraction and brilliance. The position and angle of cuts determine how light enters and exits the stone. As a result, the cut can enhance or destroy sparkle. A Moissanite stone with a high cut grade will refract light optimally, producing the flashes of brilliant sparkle that Moissanite is famous for. Conversely, a Moissanite stone with a low cut grading will have far less sparkle.
Dull and lifeless-looking Moissanite stones won’t retail for newly as much as well cut stones that dance with lively sparkle.
How Color Grading Influences The Price Of Moissanite
Like diamonds, some Moissanite can have a slightly yellow undertone. Colorless stones are typically the most desirable, so the more colorless a Moissanite stone is, the more expensive it will be. Moissanite stones are graded according to their color as follows.
- A grading of ‘D’, ‘E’, or ‘F’ is considered colorless.
- A grading of ‘G’, ‘H’, or ‘I’ would be referred to as near colorless.
- A grading of ‘J’ or ‘K’ would indicate a stone with some color.
As mentioned above, colorless and near-colorless Moissanite will be more expensive. Still, because Moissanite is so much cheaper than diamonds, the quality upgrade is something many couples can afford—while still saving significant money.
How Clarity Influences The Price Of Moissanite
The clarity of a Moissanite refers to its perfection. Like diamonds, Moissanite can have small internal imperfections, known as blemishes and inclusions. These inner flaws can seriously impact the way light travels through the stone. The number, size, and position of these imperfections influence the degree to which they’re able to rob a stone of its ability to sparkle normally. Because these internal flaws are typically too small to see with the naked eye, they usually don’t impact the general beauty of the ring beyond their impact on sparkle.
The clarity of Moissanite is graded on a scale of ‘AAAA’, ‘AAA’, ‘AA’, ‘A’, and ‘B’. The B rating has the most imperfections, while AAAA has the fewest. Unfortunately, AAAA Moissanite is tough to find, so a Moissanite with a clarity grading of AAA is typically your best option if you want to minimize imperfections.
I wrote another article that goes into much greater detail on how inclusions impact Moissanite. While they can impact appearance, they also have the ability to impact durability—depending on size and location. Hopefully, the post is helpful in providing better awareness as you shop and compare stones.
As expected, the higher the clarity grading of a particular Moissanite stone, the more it will cost. As you’ve just seen, many factors influence the price of a Moissanite. While you could find a cheaper option by selecting a stone with lower gradings, there are real advantages to choosing a higher quality stone—even though it’s a little more expensive.
The Advantages Of Choosing A More Expensive Moissanite
Moissanite with higher grading will ultimately be more beautiful and something you’ll likely be happy with long-term.
There are many unbranded Moissanite rings available at a lower price. However, when buying one of those stones, there’s also a lot you don’t know. Some well-respected Moissanite producers provide a certificate of authenticity. In addition, they include valuable detail regarding the size, cut, color, and clarity of the stone you purchase—and a warranty that provides peace of mind. When you click on the following link, you can find information on the Moissanite producer that we trust most, and save $100 on your purchase!
Moissanite with higher gradings will naturally have more sparkle. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a fortune to upgrade your Moissanite stone’s quality. If you’re buying Moissanite instead of a diamond, you’ll be able to get larger, and much better quality stone, while still saving an enormous amount of money! While you shouldn’t break your budget, remember that you’ll wear this ring for many years to come.
Because you’re buying something that you’ll wear and look at frequently for many years to come, the relatively small cost of upgrading to a better color, cut, and clarity will likely be well worth it. The quality of your stone is important enough, that it might be worth buying a smaller stone that has better grading, instead of getting a larger stone with poor grading.
How Much Should You Save For Your Moissanite Ring?
There’s no shortage of opinions on how much you should feel obligated to pay for your engagement ring. Some pretty standard advice is 2 to 3 months salary. For example, if you earn $5,000 per month, many would suggest that you spend $10,000 to $15,000 on your engagement ring. In reality, you shouldn’t feel obligated to spend any particular amount. It really should be more about what your partner likes and what lines up with your budget best. For most Moissanite rings, that could mean spending anywhere between $1,000 and $3,500—though a huge component of the total cost has to do with the metal chosen for the band and the additional stones used to embellish its surface.
Rather than saving and spending based on a 2 to 3-month salary expectation, you should decide the size, cut, and clarity that you want for your Moissanite ring and then shop accordingly. Because Moissanite is so much less expensive than diamonds, odd are—that your Moissanite engagement ring won’t anywhere close to 2-3 months salary.
In Conclusion
Many factors influence the price of Moissanite. The stone’s size, along with cut, color, and clarity gradings, for example. Even though higher gradings come at an increased cost, Moissanite is still far more affordable than many alternatives, like diamonds.
You can purchase a larger Moissanite with much higher gradings for far less than you would spend on an event remotely comparable diamond. Because of this, Moissanite is an excellent option for anyone wanting a beautiful ring at a more affordable price.
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