The world’s largest known Natural Moissanite crystal, announced by the GIA as “Record-Size”, have been discovered in the Shefa in Israel exploration area in 2014.  

Natural Moissanite is a naturally occurring Silicon Carbide and its various crystalline polymorphs, with a hardness of 9.5 in moss scale. It has the chemical formula SiC and is a very rare mineral, discovered by the French chemist Henri Moissan in 1893.

Crystals of moissanite found in kimberlite-related samples are typically <1mm in size. They contain metallic inclusions that consist mainly of native Si and an iron silicide, usually FeSi₂. Moissanite also occurs in a range of meteorite types, and their unusual Si- and C- isotope compositions indicate that some grains are pre-solar.

Moissanite was introduced to the jewelry market in 1998 after Charles & Colvard, formerly known as C3 Inc., received patents to create and market lab-grown silicon carbide gemstones, becoming the first firm to sell lab-grown Moissanite as a diamond alternative, with some optical properties exceeding those of diamond.

Because of its hardness, it can be used in high-pressure experiments, as a replacement for diamond. Since large diamonds are usually too expensive to be used as anvils, moissanite is more often used in large-volume experiments. Moissanite is also interesting for electronic and thermal applications because its thermal conductivity is similar to that of diamonds. High power silicon carbide electronic devices are expected to find use in the design of protection circuits used for motors, actuators, and energy storage or pulse power systems.^. It also exhibits thermoluminescence, making it useful in radiation dosimetry.

Moissanite, in its natural form, remains very rare. It has been discovered only in a few rocks, from upper mantle rock to meteorites. The largest known moissanite crystals have been recovered from Cretaceous volcanic rocks and associated alluvial deposits in the Mt Carmel area, Israel (Shefa in Israel project). These are euhedral crystals up to 4.14 mm long. They contain inclusions of Fe2Si3, FeSi2, a Cu-Zn alloy and native Si.

Mineral Metaphysical and Energetic Properties:

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