Moissanite is NOT indestructible!

While Moissanite is almost as hard as a diamond, it is not indestructible.  Jewellers working with Moissanite should be aware of using the correct equipment to ensure unnecessary damage to the surface of the stone. 

Polishing:

When polishing claw tips with the stone in situ, bear in mind that silicon carbide paper will scratch your Moissanite. Why?  Because Moissanite IS Silicon Carbide and one will scratch the other. 

Always make sure you use a lower hardness abrasives like aluminum oxide (corundum).  Most papers are marked by the manufacturer, here is a helpful list:

Paper marked with A, C or Z are safe to use.  Avoid S or AC which will scratch your Moissanite.

 

When using heat for general repairs and sizing, there are some best practices that you need to adhere to:

1. Clean the stone from any dirt or other contaminants with ultrasonic cleaning and steaming.  If an oil slick type of sheen remains on the Timeless Moissanite®, we recommend a heated beaker equipped with a magnetic stirrer that can maintain a temperature of approximately 190 to 200 degrees. Suspend the Timeless Moissanite® in a cleaning solution for about 45 minutes to an hour. Remove the Timeless Moissanite® from the solution, rinse and steam to restore the brilliance of the stone.
2. When soldering a crack or re-sizing a piece of jewellery,  it must be allowed to cool down slowly. Quenching jewellery set with Timeless Moissanite® runs the risk of cracking or shattering.
3. When you repair or re-tip jewellery, the heating process causes Timeless Moissanite® to temporarily change colour.  The stone will initially turn yellow and then red in colour. When cooled slowly it will return to its original colour.

CAUTION:

If you work with high temperatures, do not keep the stone at a red colour for more than a few seconds, as this will result in permanently altering the colour of the stone.  For re tipping work on three or preferably  less prongs at a time and be sure to let the piece cool and then pickle it, prior to working on the next set of tips.

This procedure is a must when re-tipping on silver. If the Timeless Moissanite® in silver jewellery takes on a sandy brownish colour, this means the piece will need to be pickled for up to 8 hours. Stones with a milky look and no luster have been damaged by too much heat and will need to be replaced.

We do not recommend  high temperature repairs with 19K or platinum solder while the Timeless Moissanite® are still set, as this can fracture or burn the gemstone.  Figure 1 and 2 exhibit permanent colour burning resulting from excessive heat during repairs to a platinum ring.

Figure 1