Scroll through any serious jewelry listing and you will see the same two codes over and over: D color, VVS1. They appear on our product pages too, and they are not marketing garnish. They are borrowed from the strict grading language of the diamond industry, and they tell you precisely what quality of stone you are getting. Here is what each grade means, why it matters, and why lab grown moissanite reaches grades that cost a fortune in the diamond world.
The Color Scale: Why D Is the Top
The Gemological Institute of America grades stone color on an alphabetical scale that starts, counterintuitively, at D. The scale runs from D (completely colorless) down through Z (visibly yellow or brown). The founders skipped A, B, and C deliberately, to break from older, inconsistent grading systems.
- D, E, F: Colorless. No tint detectable even by a trained grader comparing stones side by side.
- G, H, I, J: Near colorless. Faint warmth visible when compared directly against a colorless stone.
- K and below: Increasingly visible yellow tint.
A D color stone is the coldest, whitest, most icy grade that exists. In natural diamonds, D color commands an enormous premium because so few mined stones come out of the ground without a tint. Early moissanite, two decades ago, often carried a yellowish or greenish undertone, and that old reputation still floats around forums. Modern premium moissanite is grown under controlled conditions that produce genuinely colorless D grade crystal, which is why the stones in our premium collection face up pure white in any light.
The Clarity Scale: What VVS1 Means
Clarity grades describe inclusions, the tiny internal flaws a crystal picks up as it forms. The scale runs from FL (flawless) through IF, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2, and down to I grades where flaws are visible to the naked eye.
VVS stands for Very Very Slightly included. A VVS1 stone has inclusions so minute that even a trained grader under 10x magnification struggles to find them. To your eye, and to everyone else's, a VVS1 stone is perfectly clean. There is nothing to see, no cloud, no speck, no line. In street terms, VVS has become shorthand for the cleanest, iciest stones money buys, and that usage traces directly back to this grading scale.
Why Lab Grown Moissanite Hits These Grades Consistently
In mined diamonds, D color and VVS1 clarity together put a stone in the top fraction of one percent of global production. Nature does not often produce perfection, which is why that combination costs tens of thousands of dollars per carat.
Moissanite is grown in a laboratory from silicon carbide under precisely controlled temperature and pressure. The process can be tuned and repeated, which means colorless, eye clean crystal is not a lottery ticket. It is the production standard. Each finished stone is then cut to ideal proportions, something cutters of natural stones often sacrifice to preserve carat weight from the rough crystal.
The result: the D color VVS1 grade that is nearly mythical in mined stones is simply what premium moissanite is. You can see it in a high stone count piece like the VVS tennis bracelet in 14K gold, where dozens of stones sit side by side and every one matches: same whiteness, same clarity, same fire.
How to Verify What You Are Buying
Grading language is only as trustworthy as the seller using it. Three checks worth making:
1. Look for lab certification
Premium moissanite ships with a gemological certificate stating the stone's color grade, clarity grade, and carat weight. Every MONTIER piece includes one.
2. Check stone consistency
In multi stone pieces like tennis chains, mismatched stones are the giveaway of cut rate sourcing. All stones should show identical color and fire, the way they do across our Aria tennis necklace.
3. Ask what the setting is made of
A D color VVS1 stone set in brass or plated alloy is a mismatch. Top grade stones belong in real 14K gold over 925 sterling silver, because the setting has to last as long as the stone will, which is forever.
Why Cut Quality Completes the Picture
Color and clarity get the headlines, but the third factor, cut, decides how much of that quality your eye actually receives. A stone's facets are a system of tiny mirrors: cut to correct angles, they capture light entering the crown and return it to your eye as brilliance and fire. Cut too shallow or too deep, and light leaks out of the bottom of the stone, leaving dead, glassy patches no color grade can rescue.
This is another place where lab growth changes the economics. Cutters of natural diamond rough face a constant tradeoff between ideal angles and salable carat weight, and weight usually wins, which is why so many mined stones are cut to mediocre proportions. Moissanite is grown, so there is no rough lottery: every stone can be faceted to ideal proportions without sacrificing anything. When you see a D color VVS1 moissanite described as ideal cut, all three quality levers are set to maximum, a combination that in the natural diamond world is essentially a museum piece.
The practical takeaway when comparing sellers: ask about all three grades. A seller who advertises color and clarity but cannot speak to cut proportions is selling you two thirds of a stone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is D color VVS1 the best moissanite grade?
Effectively yes. D is the highest color grade (fully colorless) and VVS1 means inclusions are nearly undetectable under 10x magnification. Together they represent the top tier of stone quality.
Who grades moissanite?
Moissanite is graded against the GIA developed color and clarity scales, with certificates issued by independent gem labs. The scales are the same ones used for diamonds.
Does D color VVS1 moissanite look different from lower grades?
Yes, especially in color. Lower grade moissanite can show a faint yellow or green undertone, particularly in sunlight. D color stones face up ice white in any lighting.
Is VVS1 moissanite eye clean?
Completely. VVS1 inclusions are difficult to locate even under magnification, so to the naked eye the stone is flawless. Routine care and cleaning keeps it looking that way for life.