|
These creatures had become extinct millions of years before a meteorite
crashed into the Arizona desert creating what is now known as
"Meteor Crater." My personal opinion is that dinosaur extinction was caused by a combination of the resulting "nuclear winter" and gigantic tsunamis caused by the impact of a large asteroid. Getting back to the meteor which carried Moissanite to Earth -- fragments of this meteorite were scattered
across the Arizona desert. Hidden in these fragments was a brilliant
secret waiting to be discovered. In 1893, Nobel-Prize winning
scientist Henri Moissan began studying fragments of this meteorite
in nearby Diablo Canyon. In these fragments Dr. Moissan
discovered minute quantities of a shimmering new mineral, with fire
and brilliance never before seen on earth. After extensive
research, Dr. Moissan concluded that this mineral was made of
silicon carbide.
In 1905, this mineral was named
Moissanite, in his honor. Despite this amazing
discovery, since naturally occurring quantities of moissanite are so
small, it would be another century before this stunning mineral
would emerge as the brilliant jewel it is today.
In the late 1980's, inspired by Dr.
Moissan's discovery, a North Carolina company named CREE developed a
proprietary process for producing large single crystals
of Moissanite.
In the summer of 1995, a master
diamond cutter observed samples of Moissanite and suggested that
properly cut crystals would make a brilliant new jewel. Within days,
scientists from CREE and Charles & Colvard began a three-year
research project to bring the fire and brilliance of Moissanite
jewels to consumers.
Moissanite was introduced in the
summer of 1998.
|
