Moissanite: The Post-Patent Era
What will it mean when new brands of moissanite come to market?
Rob Bates | July 1, 2016
"When Charles & Colvard’s U.S. patent for moissanite expired last year, the company said it “anticipate[d] new providers of moissanite to enter the market,” according to its annual report. (Its EU patent expired this year.)
We are now seeing that come to fruition—and it may be just the beginning.
Among the new entrants: Moissanite International, which sells under the brand names Nova and Supernova. According to director Lauren Chang Sommer, the company grew out of Moi Moi Fine Jewellery, a shop in Sydney that retails moissanite. (Moi Moi still sells Charles & Colvard material, as its patent doesn’t expire in Australia until September.) It has hired Joseph Ambar, former director of international sales for Charles & Colvard, to be its president of international sales.
Then there’s Wholesale Moissanite, which, like Charles & Colvard, is based in North Carolina, and is owned by Guy Stimpson, one of the first Charles & Colvard salespeople. It is now selling product that is produced abroad under the brand name NEO.
“I’ve been at this since I was 22,” Stimpson says. “I’ve been waiting for the patent to end for a lot of years.” He says his goal is to create a “new standard” for the business.
He expects that the new entrants will lead to three results: ... "
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