They look alike but they're different materials. A lab-grown diamond is diamond: pure carbon, chemically identical to a mined one. Moissanite is silicon carbide, a separate gemstone with its own look and properties. Both are grown in a lab, both are durable, and both are good choices for different reasons.

Moissanite was first found in tiny amounts in a meteorite crater in the 1890s. It's so rare in nature that all moissanite used in jewellery today is lab-created. It's hard, bright and much less expensive than diamond, which is why it's become popular for everyday pieces.

Moissanite has more fire than diamond, meaning it throws more rainbow flashes, especially in bigger stones and in sunlight. Some people love that. Others prefer the crisper mix of white and coloured light you get from a diamond.

Diamond is 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, the hardest natural material. Moissanite is 9.25, which is still harder than almost every other gemstone and very comfortable for daily wear.

Modern moissanite is colourless to the eye. In certain light, some stones can show a faint warm or grey tint that a high-colour diamond wouldn't.

Diamonds are graded by independent labs like IGI on cut, colour, clarity and carat weight. Moissanite isn't graded the same way and usually comes with a certificate from the maker instead.

Moissanite costs a fraction of the price of a lab-grown diamond of a similar size. A lab-grown diamond, in turn, usually costs considerably less than a mined one.

If it's a ring you'll wear every day for decades and may one day pass down, we'd choose a lab-grown diamond. It's the hardest option, it's graded independently, and it's the stone we use in every Una engagement ring.

If you want sparkle for stacking and everyday pieces without the price of diamond, moissanite makes a lot of sense. It's what we use in our everyday range, set in gold plated sterling silver.