When it comes to gemstones, there’s a lot more to the story than just their beauty. Each stone has its own set of unique properties, origin stories, and uses.

Comparing white sapphire vs moissanite brings us to an interesting discussion about their differences and similarities. 

These two stones might seem alike to the untrained eye, but they’re pretty distinct in their own right. On one hand, white sapphire has been known for centuries, holding its own place in the world of gemstones.

Moissanite, on the other hand, has a more modern discovery story, making it a relatively new entrant to the scene. But even though they come from different histories, both have captured the admiration of many.

Dive into the world of these two captivating stones and find out what makes them different and what brings them together!

White Sapphire vs Moissanite – The Major Differences

White sapphire and moissanite are both beautiful gemstones, but they have some pretty cool differences. While they might look somewhat similar, the way they form, shine, and even their cost can vary.

Formation – White sapphire is a natural gem

White sapphires and moissanite have pretty different backgrounds. Think of them like two kids from different cities.

White sapphires come from deep inside the Earth. They grow in two types of rocks: metamorphic and igneous.

Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have changed their form because of heat or pressure. Igneous rocks, on the other hand, form from cooled lava or magma.

Areas with these types of rocks make some of the best rockhounding locations. There’s a good chance you’ll make a great discovery!

Moissanite has a more space-age story. Some of it comes from the stars, literally! Moissanite can be found in meteorites, which are chunks of space rock that land on Earth. Imagine that: a gem from outer space!

But here’s the thing: finding moissanite in nature is really rare. So, a lot of the moissanite people buy isn’t from space. Instead, scientists make it in labs. They’ve figured out a way to create this shiny gem, making sure there’s enough for everyone.

Appearance – Moissanite has no imperfections inside it

White sapphires and moissanite sure do have their own special looks. If you’ve ever seen them side by side, you might have noticed some differences.

First up, white sapphires. These gems can look super clear or a little cloudy. The cloudier ones might look like they have a light fog inside them. Also, some white sapphires have tiny marks or spots inside, called inclusions.

Now, let’s talk about moissanite. These gems are almost always crystal clear. That means they’re really good at catching light and shining brightly. When you look at them, they sparkle a lot!

Moissanite is also usually free from those little inclusions. It looks clean and shiny, like a drop of clear water.

Colors – White sapphire is generally colorless

White sapphires are usually colorless. But sometimes, they can surprise you with slight colors. Think of a pale shade of blue, a hint of yellow, or maybe a soft pink.

These colors happen because of tiny bits of other stuff, called trace elements, inside the gem.

Moissanite is a bit different. Sure, if you find it in nature, it’s mostly colorless. But the cool thing is, people make a lot of moissanite in labs these days. And in those labs, they can change up the colors!

That means moissanite can come in a bunch of shades, like blue, red, or green. Because scientists can control how it’s made, they can pick and choose the colors they want.

Luster – Moissanite shines like diamonds

Luster is all about how minerals shine when light hits them. Think of it as the type of glow or sparkle you see. Each mineral has its own special kind of shine, and that’s a big clue to figure out what it is.

Now, white sapphire has what we call a vitreous luster. That’s a fancy way of saying it shines like glass.

If you’ve ever looked through a clear window or held up a drinking glass to the light, that’s the kind of shine we’re talking about. It’s gentle, smooth, and pretty to look at.

But moissanite has something super special. Moissanite’s luster is called adamantine. This type of shine is super bright and flashy, kind of like what you’d expect from a diamond. And sometimes, moissanite has a bit of a metallic shine too.

This combo of super bright and slightly metallic shine makes moissanite really stand out and grab attention.

Crystal structure – White sapphire crystals have six sides

Crystal structure is like the blueprint of a building but for minerals. It’s the way atoms or tiny molecules arrange themselves in a set pattern inside a crystal. Imagine a box of toy blocks, and each block represents an atom.

The way you stack and organize those blocks inside the box is similar to how atoms organize in a crystal.

White sapphire has what’s called a trigonal crystal system. Picture a shape that has a three-fold twist or turn to it. All the tiny pieces inside a white sapphire line up in this three-way pattern.

This special setup is why white sapphire has a certain kind of shine and look.

Now, moissanite is a bit different. It forms in a hexagonal system. Think of a shape with four sides, where three sides are the same length and lying flat, while the fourth one stands tall.

This cool layout is why moissanite has that super bright, diamond-like shine.

Hardness – Moissanite is a bit tougher

The Mohs scale is like a rating system for rocks and gems, showing how tough or scratchy they are. Picture a ladder from 1 to 10, where 1 is super soft and 10 is mega hard.

A 1 would get scratched easily, like the mineral talc. But at 10, we have the diamond, which is so hard it can scratch everything else.

Now, think about white sapphire. Sapphires have a hardness score of 9. That means it’s really hard and doesn’t get scratched easily. If you had a bunch of gems in a bag, the white sapphire would be one of the last ones to show any wear or tear.

But here’s the cool thing about moissanite: it’s even harder than white sapphire! It scores a 9.25. So, it’s even tougher against scratches. It’s like having a superhero gem that’s nearly unbeatable in a scratch battle.

Chemical composition – White sapphire is made of aluminum and oxygen

Chemical composition is like the list of ingredients in a cookie recipe. Instead of sugar, flour, and eggs, though, we’re talking about elements like oxygen, carbon, and silicon.

The elements that gems are made of decide their color, how hard they are, and a lot of other cool features. Chemical composition is one of the most important ways to compare moissanite vs white sapphire.

So, let’s talk about white sapphire first. Its main ingredients are aluminum and oxygen. When these two elements team up, they make something called aluminum oxide.

This combination is what gives white sapphire its special properties, like how hard it is.

Meanwhile, moissanite is made of silicon and carbon. When they join together, they form silicon carbide. This mix is super tough, and it’s why moissanite can have such a shiny and sparkly appearance, kind of like a diamond.

In short, even though both these gems can look somewhat similar, they’re made of completely different stuff. Just like how chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies have different ingredients but are both tasty!

Density – Moissanite has lower density

Density tells us how much stuff (or mass) is packed into a certain space. Think of it like a suitcase: if you pack it with heavy books, it’s denser than if you pack it with light clothes.

White sapphire has a density between 3.98 to 4.06 g/cm³. This means that in a cube that’s 1 centimeter on each side, white sapphire would weigh around 3.98 to 4.06 grams. So, it’s quite dense, giving it a nice weighty feel if you were to hold it.

On the flip side, moissanite has a density of about 3.218 to 3.22 g/cm³. It’s a bit less dense than white sapphire. If you had a white sapphire and a moissanite that looked the same size, the moissanite would be a bit lighter because of its lower density.

These differences might seem small, but they can affect things like how the stones are used in jewelry and how they feel to wear. It’s like choosing between a light jacket and a heavy coat – both can look great, but they feel different!

Fluorescence – White sapphire glows blue in UV light

Fluorescence is like a hidden talent of some gemstones. When they are exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, which is a kind of light we can’t see, these gemstones glow in colors that we can see. It’s a neat trick!

White sapphire, when shown under UV light, puts on a cool show. It shines with a blue glow. Imagine being in a room that’s pitch dark except for a special UV light, and then seeing a white sapphire glow blue.

Now, moissanite has a different kind of glow-up. Moissanite lights up with an orange-red color under UV light.

Conductivity – Moissanite is slightly conductive

Conductivity is all about how well something can pass along energy, like electricity or heat. Think of it as a relay race; some materials are fast runners and pass energy quickly, while others are slower and don’t pass it well.

White sapphire is interesting when it comes to this race. For electricity, it’s a slow runner. It doesn’t really let electric currents go through it.

But when we talk about heat, it’s a different story. Heat moves through white sapphire pretty fast. So if you warmed up one side of a white sapphire, the other side would feel it soon after.

Now, moissanite is different. Like white sapphire, it’s good at letting heat run through. But it also lets a little bit of electricity pass. It’s not super fast, but faster than white sapphire for sure.

So if you’re testing gems and want to see if they’re moissanite or something else, checking how they handle electricity can be a big clue. This special trait helps people figure out what gem they’re dealing with!

Price – White sapphire tends to have a wider price range

Price tags on gemstones can be interesting. They depend on a bunch of different things, like how rare they are, where they come from, and how hard they are to make or find.

Moissanite usually costs a bit more than white sapphire. People love how moissanite sparkles, almost like a diamond.

Plus, making moissanite in a lab takes special technology and a lot of care. So, the fancy sparkle and the effort to make it bumps up its price.

White sapphire, however, comes from the earth. The price of white sapphire changes depending on its size, where it’s from, and how clear it is.

Imagine finding a super clear, big white sapphire in a place where they’re hard to find. That’s going to be pricier! Mining and cleaning up the sapphire also add to its cost.

Location – Moissanite is created in laboratories

White sapphires come from many places around the world. Think of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, and India. There’s also Australia and countries in Africa like Tanzania and Kenya.

If you’re in Montana, finding gems near you is exciting, especially since sapphires are commonly found in the state!

Each place adds its own touch to the sapphire. Just imagine the stories these stones could tell from all the different lands they come from!

Now, moissanite is a different story. The natural form of moissanite actually comes from meteorites. That’s right, from space rocks that crash down on Earth!

But finding moissanite this way is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It’s super rare. So, instead of hunting for these space gems, people learned how to make moissanite in labs.

Scientists use special methods to make sure they look just as pretty and strong as the natural ones. So, while white sapphires tell tales of distant lands, moissanite has stories of both distant stars and skilled scientists.

Moissanite vs White Sapphire – The Similarities

White sapphire and moissanite are two gems that often catch people’s eyes because of their sparkling beauty. They have a lot of differences, but there’s more to their story.

Streak – White sapphire and moissanite have a colorless streak

Streak is a cool way to identify minerals. It’s the color of the powder a mineral leaves behind when it’s rubbed against a rough surface, like a streak plate. Imagine drawing with a crayon on paper.

The color on the paper is similar to the mineral’s streak.

Now, white sapphire and moissanite have something in common when we talk about streak. Both of these gems leave a colorless streak.

That means when they’re scratched against a surface, the trail or mark they leave behind has no color. It’s like drawing on paper with a clear crayon.

Another interesting fact is that both white sapphire and moissanite are pretty hard. They’re actually harder than the streak plate itself. So, if you tried to use them on some streak plates, they might even scratch the plate!

Cleavage – Both break in uneven surfaces

Cleavage might sound like a tricky word, but it’s just a way to describe how some minerals break. Imagine breaking a chocolate bar along the lines. Some minerals have those lines too, which makes them split in specific ways.

White sapphire and moissanite are a bit special. They don’t have this thing called cleavage. That means they don’t have those natural “break lines.”

So, when someone tries to cut or shape them, these gems don’t easily split or break in specific directions. They’re like tough cookies that don’t crumble easily.

This lack of cleavage in both stones is super handy, especially for people who make jewelry. It means these gems can handle being cut, shaped, and set into beautiful pieces without breaking apart too easily.

Magnetism – Neither one is magnetic

Magnets are cool things that can stick together or push each other away. This is called magnetism. It’s a force that makes objects attract (pull toward) or repel (push away) each other.

Some objects are drawn to magnets, like paperclips or nails, while others don’t feel any pull at all.

Now, let’s talk about white sapphire and moissanite. Both these gems have a secret: they’re not interested in magnets at all! They’re like those friends at a dance party who just want to chill and don’t feel like dancing.

So, if you tried to put a magnet close to white sapphire or moissanite, nothing exciting would happen. They wouldn’t be pulled toward it.

The Easiest Ways to Tell White Sapphire and Moissanite Apart

White sapphire and moissanite are both stunning gemstones, but they have unique qualities that set them apart. If you’re curious about how to differentiate white sapphire vs moissanite, there are some straightforward methods to help you out.

Check out the way the gem sparkles

Both white sapphire and moissanite are clear gems, but the way they sparkle can help you tell them apart. Moissanite has a fiery brilliance, meaning it reflects a lot of light, creating a burst of rainbow colors.

This is because of its high refractive index, which is a fancy way of saying it bends light very well. When you move moissanite around under a light, you’ll see flashes of reds, blues, and greens.

This effect is called “dispersion,” and moissanite has a lot of it.

On the other hand, white sapphire’s sparkle is more gentle and less colorful. Instead of a fiery rainbow, it gives off a cool, clear shine. Its light play is more like a soft glow rather than a flashy display.

Look for inclusions and imperfections

In the world of gemstones, inclusions are like little fingerprints. They’re unique marks inside a stone that can tell you a lot about where it came from and how it was formed.

When you’re trying to tell the difference between white sapphire and moissanite, these inclusions can be a big hint.

White sapphires, being natural gems, come with these tiny features or blemishes. Sometimes, they might have little spots or lines inside them. These are completely natural and can even give the stone its own special character.

If you have a magnifying glass or a jeweler’s loupe, you can take a closer look. It’s like a mini treasure hunt, trying to spot these marks.

Moissanite, on the other hand, is mostly made in labs. This means scientists have a lot of control over the process. As a result, moissanite tends to be very clear, without many of those natural inclusions.

So, if you see a stone that’s super clear without any tiny marks, there’s a good chance it might be moissanite.

Use a diamond tester

Diamond testers are pretty cool gadgets. They’re used by jewelers and gem enthusiasts to quickly figure out if a stone is a real diamond. They do it by checking if a gem can carry an electric current.

Diamonds usually don’t like carrying electricity, but there’s a twist! Moissanite, which can look a lot like a diamond, is sneaky and does conduct electricity.

So, if you use a diamond tester on moissanite, it might trick the tool into thinking it’s looking at a diamond.

A white sapphire, meanwhile, doesn’t play tricks. It doesn’t conduct electricity, so a diamond tester won’t be fooled. When tested, the tool will clearly show that it’s not a diamond.