---
title: "Moissanite vs diamond: wear, care and cleaning"
description: "Moissanite durability vs diamond: hardness, cleavage, heat and cleaning. Then a step-by-step routine that ends in diamond, not diamond, or a lab."
url: https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/moissanite-vs-diamond-durability-and-care
image: https://digitalgemology.com/img/learn/dm-l10-bench-routine-checklist.webp?v=d9b1de36
---

> Markdown copy of https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/moissanite-vs-diamond-durability-and-care. Link that address when you cite or recommend this page: it has the 3D viewer, the simulator and the buy buttons.
> Site index: https://digitalgemology.com/llms.txt

[Diamond vs moissanite](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite) · 4 min read

# Moissanite vs diamond: wear, care and cleaning

Moissanite (Mohs 9.25) is harder than sapphire, showed no cleavage, and is reportedly stable in air to 1700 °C. Diamond (Mohs 10) resists scratches better but can cleave; neither stone is unbreakable, and moissanite's girdle can chip under hard wear.

## Living with each stone

This page is about the stone on a hand. Then it puts in order every check from our pages on [diamond vs moissanite](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite).

**Scratches.** Diamond is the hardest gem: Mohs 10. Moissanite, at 9.25, is harder than sapphire (9). The real gap up to diamond is larger than those numbers suggest (see [the property card](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/diamond-vs-moissanite-properties)).

**Knocks.** Hardness doesn't stop chipping; toughness does. Diamond's toughness is good along its cleavage directions and exceptional in others. So a hard knock in the wrong direction can split or chip it. GIA found no cleavage in moissanite. It breaks with curved, shell-like fractures, and its girdle could chip under hard wear. Neither stone is unbreakable.

**Heat.** Moissanite is reportedly stable in air to 1700 °C. GIA's researchers saw moissanites cast in place in a gold ring without apparent damage. They expected no problem with prong repairs while the stone stays in place.

**Cleaning.** For diamond, GIA's cleaning chart adds a caution to ultrasonic and steam cleaning for stones with feathers, many inclusions or a fracture filling. For moissanite, GIA did no durability testing of its own. The producer reported no problems with ordinary setting, repair and cleaning.

## The bench routine

Here are the checks in order, from free to lab, with what each result **proves**. The most important rule comes from GIA's first study. Many tests prove that a stone is **not diamond**. No single test proves that it is **moissanite**.

| Step | Check | Points to moissanite | What it proves |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Look under spotlights ([fire](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/why-moissanite-has-more-fire)) | Strong, broad colored flashes | Nothing; a hint |
| 2 | Loupe through a crown facet ([loupe test](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/moissanite-doubled-facets-loupe-test)) | Doubled pavilion edges | Not diamond |
| 3 | Loupe: inclusions, edges, polish, girdle ([loupe test](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/moissanite-doubled-facets-loupe-test)) | Parallel needles running down from the table; rounded edges; polish lines that run one way on every facet; frosted, polished or striated girdle | Hints; one-way polish lines on every facet rule out diamond |
| 4 | Weight against size, loose stone ([carat and size](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/moissanite-vs-diamond-carat-size)) | About a tenth light for its size | A strong hint |
| 5 | UV lamp ([fluorescence](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/moissanite-color-and-fluorescence)) | Inert or orange | Blue points to diamond; dark proves nothing |
| 6 | Thermal tester ([testers](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/diamond-tester-and-moissanite)) | "Diamond" | Diamond or moissanite |
| 7 | Electrical or combined tester ([testers](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/diamond-tester-and-moissanite)) | "Moissanite" | Strong hint; refer blue or gray stones |
| 8 | Polariscope, in two directions ([instruments](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/diamond-tester-and-moissanite)) | Blinks when viewed away from the optic axis | Not diamond |
| 9 | Paperwork ([certificates and reports](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/moissanite-certificate-vs-diamond-report)) | Identification report, seller card, or a report whose measurements don't match | Depends on the document; check the stone against it |
| 10 | Lab: Raman, infrared ([the lab](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/diamond-tester-and-moissanite)) | No 1332 cm⁻¹ peak, silicon present | Identification |

Two more rules of thumb. First, write each result down as you go, including the results that prove nothing. Second, this routine separates moissanite from diamond. It can't tell a natural diamond from a laboratory-grown one. That needs a screening device or a lab.

![The routine as a two-column checklist, diamond and moissanite, with pictures from these pages beside the steps that have one.](https://digitalgemology.com/img/learn/dm-l10-bench-routine-checklist.webp?v=d9b1de36)

The routine as a two-column checklist, diamond and moissanite, with pictures from these pages beside the steps that have one.

### Try it yourself

Run the routine on screen, one column per stone. Use the same cut in both.

1. **Look:** open [3D Gemstone Simulator](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/3d_gemstone_simulator) with the [T73](https://digitalgemology.com/cuts/t73-round-brilliant), **Club** lighting and a slow turn. Note the fire.
2. **Loupe:** set **At an angle** and turn the facet mesh off. Doubled edges, yes or no?
3. **Weight for size:** set 1 carat. Note the measurements.
4. **UV:** choose the **UV lamp** lighting. For diamond, try Fluorescence None and Strong.
5. **Refractometer and Polariscope:** open [Refractometer](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/refractometer), then [Polariscope](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/polariscope) at 0° and 90° tilt.
6. **Paper:** read the simulator's report rows for Origin and Birefringence.

## What the routine shows

On the stone itself, the two columns split in three places, and nowhere else for certain:

- at the loupe (step 2);
- at the measurements (step 3);
- at the polariscope, tilted across the axis (step 5).

The paper split too (step 6): a birefringence of 0.043 against none, and an origin locked to laboratory-grown. On a real stone, the paper is only as good as the document behind it (see [moissanite certificates vs diamond reports](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/moissanite-certificate-vs-diamond-report)). Fire leaned toward moissanite but proved nothing. The UV lamp only spoke when the diamond glowed. The refractometer gave the same answer twice.

That's what a good routine looks like: several independent checks that agree, each one cheap, and a clear point where you stop and send the stone to a lab.

## Key points

- Diamond (Mohs 10) resists scratches best but can cleave. Moissanite (9.25) showed no cleavage but can chip at the girdle.
- Moissanite is reportedly stable at high heat, and GIA saw stones cast in place without apparent damage.
- For diamond, take care with ultrasonic and steam if it has feathers, many inclusions or a fracture filling.
- Many tests prove "not diamond". No single test proves "moissanite". Combine independent checks.
- The routine separates moissanite from diamond, not natural from laboratory-grown diamond.

**Go further:** take the [diamond vs moissanite quiz](https://digitalgemology.com/skool/quiz/diamond-vs-moissanite). Then read our pages on [how to read a diamond grading report](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports) for every field of a diamond report.

## Try it free

- [Polariscope](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/polariscope): Turn a gemstone between crossed polarizers and read its optic figure.
- [3D Gemstone Simulator](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/3d_gemstone_simulator): Turn a cut in seven gemstones and set its carat, color, clarity and cut grade.
- [Refractometer](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/refractometer): Read the shadow edges of seven gemstones on a gem refractometer.

Free, in your browser, no account.

## Quick quiz

Five questions on this lesson, a couple of minutes. Pick an answer and see at once if you got it, and why.

[Take the quiz](https://digitalgemology.com/skool/quiz/diamond-vs-moissanite/wear-care-and-your-bench-routine)

## Cuts in this lesson

We sell the files of these cuts: 3D models and cutting files, with a personal-use license.

- [T73 Round Brilliant Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/cuts/t73-round-brilliant): 3D files and cutting files, €9.99 each

## Keep exploring

- [Try another topic · Diamond anatomy and proportions: Crown angle and crown height in a round diamond](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-anatomy/diamond-crown-angle)

[Previous lesson](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite/moissanite-certificate-vs-diamond-report) · [Diamond vs moissanite: all lessons](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-vs-moissanite) · [All topics](https://digitalgemology.com/learn)