What does MOISSANITE mean on jewelry?

What the mark tells you

Silicon carbide. Extremely durable and more brilliant than diamond, but an entirely different stone.

You may also see it written as moiss, charles colvard. They all mean the same thing.

What MOISSANITE is worth by weight

Nothing, as metal. A plated or base-metal piece carries a layer of precious metal measured in microns — far too little to recover — and a refiner will not buy it. Whatever value it has is as a finished piece of jewelry, a brand, or an antique, not as scrap.

Is it worth anything?

Little secondary market. Retails far below diamond and resells at a fraction of that.

Marks often confused with MOISSANITE

Where to find it

On a ring the mark is almost always inside the band. On a chain or bracelet look at the clasp or the tag beside it; on earrings check the post or the back. Marks are tiny and often worn — a phone camera zoomed all the way in usually reads one better than your eye does.

A stamp is evidence, not proof

Marks wear down, are struck only partially, and are occasionally forged outright. If a piece is valuable enough to matter, have the metal tested rather than relying on the stamp alone. Equally, an absent stamp does not always mean an absent metal: older and handmade jewelry is frequently unmarked.