In 1893, French chemist Henri Moissan discovered it in a meteorite crater in Arizona. Initially believed to be diamond, analysis revealed silicon carbide—an entirely different mineral.

Natural moissanite is extremely rare; virtually all on the market is synthetic, with mass production established in the 1990s. Mohs hardness 9.25—second only to diamond—and its dispersion, the splitting of light into spectral colour, exceeds diamond.

A mineral found inside a meteorite, reproduced in a laboratory. Material from space, brought to earth by human hands.