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If you like the shininess of diamonds, they're really hard to beat on the "pretty" front. Diamonds have a crazy internal refractive index, which, once exemplifi

If you like the shininess of diamonds, they're really hard to beat on the "pretty" front. Diamonds have a crazy internal refractive index, which, once exemplified by an appropriate cut, gives them a pretty unique shininess. The only gems that come close are substantially softer, meaning they lose they lose the precise cuts that give them the extra shimmer relatively quickly. Don't enrich Russia by buying mined diamonds, but there's definitely a compelling argument for lab-grown ones.

irrational 3y ago
But Moissanite are shinier than diamonds, very nearly as hard, but at a fraction of the price. And nobody can tell the difference without training and possibly a microscope.
- OkayPhysicist 3y ago
  When I last researched the topic, Moissanites almost exclusively came with a kinda ugly yellow tinge, but apparently that's not an issue anymore. Definitely a great choice. (Though I disagree that laypeople can't tell the difference between doubly-refractive and singly refractive gems)
  - irrational 3y ago
    When considering getting a Moissanite ring, I spent a significant amount of time researching the differences between diamonds and Moissanite, but I couldn’t explain or recognize the difference between doubly-refractive and singly refractive gems. We’ve even had jewelers who have looked at my wife’s ring and thought it was diamond. Admittedly that was a casual look and not a thorough appraisal, nevertheless, I doubt even a tiny percentage of the population could spot the difference.
    - OkayPhysicist 3y ago
      Oh, looking at one or the other, almost certainly not. I mean that if you lined up 2 diamonds and a moissanite, I'd bet the average person would be able to pick out the odd one out.
      - kevin_thibedeau 3y ago
        Lie to them and say there's one diamond and they'd still pick the moissanite. Just being able to differentiate relatively with a biased test doesn't mean you can tell the difference one way or the other in absolute terms.
Sai_ 3y ago
> exemplified Amplified?

irrational 3y ago

But Moissanite are shinier than diamonds, very nearly as hard, but at a fraction of the price. And nobody can tell the difference without training and possibly a microscope.

OkayPhysicist 3y ago
When I last researched the topic, Moissanites almost exclusively came with a kinda ugly yellow tinge, but apparently that's not an issue anymore. Definitely a great choice. (Though I disagree that laypeople can't tell the difference between doubly-refractive and singly refractive gems)
- irrational 3y ago
  When considering getting a Moissanite ring, I spent a significant amount of time researching the differences between diamonds and Moissanite, but I couldn’t explain or recognize the difference between doubly-refractive and singly refractive gems. We’ve even had jewelers who have looked at my wife’s ring and thought it was diamond. Admittedly that was a casual look and not a thorough appraisal, nevertheless, I doubt even a tiny percentage of the population could spot the difference.
  - OkayPhysicist 3y ago
    Oh, looking at one or the other, almost certainly not. I mean that if you lined up 2 diamonds and a moissanite, I'd bet the average person would be able to pick out the odd one out.
    - kevin_thibedeau 3y ago
      Lie to them and say there's one diamond and they'd still pick the moissanite. Just being able to differentiate relatively with a biased test doesn't mean you can tell the difference one way or the other in absolute terms.

Sai_ 3y ago

> exemplified Amplified?