What Does VVS Moissanite Actually Mean

Kevin Lin
13 hours ago
3 min read

Walk into any Hip Hop jewelry shop or scroll through Instagram, and you’ll hear the word VVS thrown around like confetti.

"VVS Moissanite Cuban."

"VVS Moissanite Jesus piece."

"Fully flooded VVS."

But here’s the truth: most people saying "VVS" don’t actually know what it means. They just know it sounds expensive.

At GLEEI, we hand-set thousands of VVS Moissanite stones every year. Let’s cut the fluff and break down what VVS actually means, how it compares to other clarity grades, and why it matters when you’re buying Hip Hop jewelry.

First Things First: What Is "Clarity"?

Clarity is a grade given to a stone based on internal flaws (inclusions) and external blemishes.

Think of it like this: if a stone were a diamond or Moissanite, clarity tells you how "clean" it looks under magnification.

In the diamond world, the scale goes from I (Included) to Flawless (FL).

Moissanite follows a similar logic—but here’s the kicker: Moissanite is lab-created, so it doesn’t have the same random impurities natural diamonds do.

The Moissanite Clarity Scale (Simplified for Real Life)

Grade	Meaning	Visual Reality
VVS (Very Very Slightly Included)	Near-perfect. Inclusions are microscopic and invisible to the naked eye.	Looks clean, icy, and expensive.
VS (Very Slightly Included)	Minor inclusions. Hard to see without a loupe.	Still clean-looking, but not "glass-like."
SI (Slightly Included)	Noticeable inclusions under normal light.	You’ll see cloudy spots or specs.
I (Included)	Obvious flaws.	Cheap, foggy, breaks the illusion.

GLEEI Rule:

If you’re building a Cuban link or pendant that’s supposed to look like natural diamond ice, VVS is the only acceptable starting point.

Why VVS Moissanite Matters for Hip Hop Jewelry

Moissanite isn’t just "shiny." It has 2.4–2.7× the fire dispersion of diamond (0.104 vs 0.044).

That means it throws more rainbow light.

And here’s the problem: if the stone has inclusions, that fire gets interrupted.

VVS Moissanite: Clean light path → fire explodes evenly.
SI or I Moissanite: Cloudy patches → fire looks broken and dull.

On an iced-out Cuban link with 300+ stones, one row of SI stones kills the whole chain.

That’s why we only use D Color VVS Moissanite at GLEEI.

Lab-Grown Doesn’t Mean "Perfect"

A lot of brands lie and say:

"Moissanite is lab-grown, so it’s all flawless."

That’s BS.

Even in a lab, you get variations in crystal growth. Some batches come out cleaner than others.

VVS Moissanite is the top 5–10% of production.

It’s hand-sorted, hand-graded, and then hand-set.

If a site sells "VVS Moissanite" for $50 a chain, they’re lying.

Real VVS Moissanite has a cost—and it shows.

VVS Moissanite vs Diamond: Can You Tell the Difference?

Feature	VVS Moissanite	VVS Natural Diamond
Clarity	VVS (lab-sorted)	VVS (natural)
Fire / Sparkle	Higher (rainbow-heavy)	Balanced (white light)
Price	Fraction of diamond	10×–50× more
Naked Eye Look	Identical	Identical
Under UV / Club Lights	Pops harder	Subtler

Bottom line:

To the naked eye—especially in photos, videos, and nightlife—VVS Moissanite reads as diamond ice.

How to Spot Fake "VVS" Claims

Here’s how you protect yourself:

Ask for macro photos. Real VVS Moissanite looks clean under zoom.
Check the price. A fully iced 10mm Cuban in real VVS Moissanite won’t be $80.
Look at the fire. If the stones look cloudy or flat, they’re not VVS.
Ask what metal it’s set in. 925 Sterling Silver + Rhodium plating is the standard for real Hip Hop pieces.