Moissanite vs Lab Diamond vs Natural Diamond Grillz: What's Actually Different

A lab-grown diamond is a real diamond — same carbon, same crystal structure, same hardness, same brilliance — and since 2018 the US Federal Trade Commission no longer requires a diamond to be natural. Moissanite is not a diamond at all. It is silicon carbide: a different material, slightly softer, throwing far more rainbow fire. For grillz, lab-grown gives you diamond at a lower cost per carat, natural is the only one with a real resale market, and moissanite gives the brightest flash. VVSANDBETTER sets all three in VVS clarity or better, and always tells you which is in your mouth.

What actually counts as a real diamond

A diamond is carbon arranged in a cubic crystal lattice. That is the whole definition. It is what gives diamond its hardness of 10 on the Mohs scale, its refractive index, and the way it returns light to your eye.

In 2018 the US Federal Trade Commission removed the word "natural" from its definition of a diamond. That was a recognition that a lab-grown stone is chemically, physically and optically the same material as a mined one. Major labs, including GIA, grade lab-grown stones on the same 4Cs: carat, color, clarity and cut.

What the FTC does still require, and what we require of ourselves, is disclosure. Every stone we set is identified as natural, lab-grown or moissanite before you pay.

How lab diamonds are actually grown

Two production methods, and they produce diamonds that differ from each other in ways only a lab can see.

HPHT — high pressure, high temperature

A diamond seed goes into a press at roughly 1,300 to 1,600 degrees Celsius, above 870,000 psi. Carbon dissolved in a molten metal flux crystallizes onto it over days to weeks. This copies how diamond forms inside the earth, and the crystal grows both cubic and octahedral faces.

CVD — chemical vapor deposition

A flat seed plate goes into a vacuum chamber with a carbon-bearing gas, usually methane. A microwave source breaks the gas apart and carbon settles on the seed layer by layer over three to four weeks. Growth on a flat plate produces flat tabular crystals with no octahedral faces.

The lab diamonds on this site are CVD. We say so up front, because method is part of a stone's identity.

The real differences — and why they never reach your mouth

Labs separate mined from grown by how the crystal built itself, not by what it is made of. Two tools do the work.

Strain patterns under cross-polarized light. CVD stones show banded strain from layer-by-layer growth. HPHT stones show none or weak banding. Natural diamonds show a bright crosshatched, mosaic pattern. An origin marker — not a flaw, not a grade, invisible without magnification and the right light.

Fluorescence patterns under UV. HPHT stones often fluoresce in a cross-shaped pattern through the crown or pavilion. CVD stones show a striated, striped pattern through the pavilion facets. Natural diamonds behave differently again, and differently across UV wavelengths. Fluorescence is a characteristic, not a defect.

None of it changes how a set looks across a room or under a flash. Nobody is putting your teeth under cross-polarized light. It matters for disclosure and honest pricing, which is why we explain it.

Moissanite is a different material, and that is fine

Moissanite is silicon carbide. Not carbon. Not a diamond, not a "lab diamond," not a grade of diamond. Anyone selling it as a diamond is lying to you.

It is slightly softer than diamond — fine for normal wear, but one step down on the hardness scale. More noticeably, it has higher dispersion: it splits white light into spectral colors more aggressively, throwing visibly more rainbow fire.

That fire is why some customers ask for it by name. It reads brighter on camera. A legitimate choice with a different look, not a downgrade, and we set it in VVS clarity or better like everything else.

Do moissanite grillz pass a diamond tester?

A standard handheld diamond tester measures thermal conductivity. A lab-grown diamond reads as diamond on it because it is a diamond — not a trick, just the correct result.

Moissanite also conducts heat well enough that many basic thermal-only testers read it as diamond. That is a limitation of a cheap tool, not proof of anything about the stone. It is exactly why dual testers exist: they also measure electrical conductivity, and on that measurement moissanite and diamond separate cleanly.

So "it passes a diamond tester" is not a selling point, and we will not use it as one. Want diamond, buy diamond. Want moissanite, buy it knowing what it is.

What are VVS diamond grillz?

VVS stands for Very Very Slightly Included. It is a clarity grade: the stone's inclusions are extremely difficult for a trained grader to see even at 10x magnification.

That is all it means. VVS says nothing about carat weight, color, cut, or whether the stone is mined or grown. A VVS stone can be large or small, natural or lab.

The grade matters in a mouthpiece because grillz get viewed close up, in direct light, in photos and video. Included stones look cloudy at that distance. Clean stones stay bright.

VVSANDBETTER is named after the floor we set: VVS or better, in all three stone types. There is no lower tier here to be upsold away from.

How we build either one

Every set is cast from your own dental impression, taken at home on a live video call with a jeweler so the tray seats correctly the first time. Turnaround is 16 to 20 business days.

Metals are solid 10K, 14K or 18K gold, or solid .925 sterling silver, plated rhodium white, yellow or rose. If you are weighing karats, see 10K vs 14K vs 18K gold grillz.

Every set carries a lifetime warranty covering repairs and stone replacement, plus a refit and refund policy. Permanent grillz are done in person at the Houston shop only.

Frequently asked questions

What is better for grillz, moissanite or lab diamonds?

Neither is universally better. Lab diamond is harder and reads as classic diamond brilliance. Moissanite is slightly softer, throws more rainbow fire, and costs less per carat. Choose by the look you want, and say which one you bought.

What is better, lab diamond or natural diamond grillz?

They are the same material and look the same in your mouth. The honest difference is market, not mineral: lab-grown stones do not hold resale value the way mined stones historically have. Lab-grown puts more stone and more gold in your hands. If the piece also has to hold value, buy natural.

Do moissanite grillz pass a diamond tester?

On a basic thermal-only tester, often yes — moissanite conducts heat well enough to fool that tool. On a dual tester that also reads electrical conductivity, no. We do not present this as a feature. It is a limitation of cheap equipment, not evidence that moissanite is a diamond.

What are VVS diamond grillz?

Grillz set with stones graded VVS — Very Very Slightly Included — meaning inclusions are extremely hard to see even at 10x magnification. It is a clarity grade only. It says nothing about size, color, cut, or whether the stone is mined or grown.

Can a jeweler tell a lab diamond from a natural one?

Not by eye, and not with a loupe. It takes lab equipment: cross-polarized light for strain patterns, UV for fluorescence patterns. Which is why disclosure at point of sale matters more than any test you could run yourself.

Are lab diamonds fake diamonds?

No. A lab-grown diamond is carbon in a cubic lattice with hardness 10 — a diamond by every physical measure and by the FTC's definition since 2018. A simulant like cubic zirconia is something else. Moissanite is not fake either; it is a different stone and has to be sold as one.

How do I know which stone is in my set?

We tell you before you pay and it is recorded on your order. Ask afterward and we will confirm it. If a seller will not put stone origin in writing, that is your answer.

Call 281-572-6159 or visit 300 Sharpstown Center, Houston. Also worth reading: are grillz bad for your teeth.