Moissan. Diamonds from the stars

The Moissan Company is a singular enterprise, uniting refined jewelry design with ecological responsibility and entrepreneurial innovation. This book traces the story of its founders, Jos Sacré and Ernesto Ibarra, whose collaboration with entrepreneur Montserrat Oliver Grimau drew inspiration from the groundbreaking work of French chemist Henri Moissan. Awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for isolating fluorine, Moissan also discovered silicon carbide—later named moissanite—while studying meteorites from Diablo Canyon, Arizona. Exceptionally rare in nature, the mineral became scientifically significant when Moissan succeeded in synthesizing it through his pioneering electric arc furnace. Essays by leading scholars explore the intellectual and material foundations of The Moissan Company. Chemist Olivier Lafont offers a vivid portrait of Moissan as both innovator and collector; jewelry historian Bianca Cappello examines the role of moissanite in modern design, from the emergence of the tennis bracelet to Cuban link chains and engagement rings; climate activist Mwape Chama addresses the environmental toll of traditional diamond mining-deforestation, biodiversity loss, toxic waste, and large-scale landscape damage—while presenting lab-grown stones as a sustainable alternative. Sarah Gore Reeves redefines jewelry as a tool for contrast, freedom, and ethical beauty rather than traditional luxury matching.