What moissanite tennis bracelets cost in Australia, and why

Search for a moissanite tennis bracelet in Australia and you will find prices from under a hundred dollars to several thousand. That spread is not because some moissanite is twenty times better than other moissanite. Four things explain almost all of it.

1. The metal, which is most of it

This is the biggest single factor and the one listings are vaguest about. Solid gold costs many times what plated sterling silver costs, and a bracelet has a lot of metal in it. A piece in the thousands is usually solid gold. A piece in the hundreds is usually silver with a plating.

Watch for phrases doing work: "gold finish", "white gold tone", "18k plated". None of those are solid gold. Ask what the base metal is and whether it is stamped.

2. The width

Stone volume rises fast with width. A 5mm bracelet carries several times the moissanite of a 2mm one, and that shows up in the price. If one bracelet is much cheaper than another, check the millimetres before you assume you have found a deal.

3. How it is built

Four prongs per stone, a box clasp with a safety catch, settings linked so the piece flexes in one plane — these cost more to make than a bracelet that skips them. They are also the difference between a piece you wear for years and one that fails at the clasp.

4. Markup

The remainder is positioning. The same bracelet, from the same kind of supplier, is sold at very different numbers depending on how the shop presents itself. There is nothing improper about that — a retailer carrying stock, answering emails and handling returns has costs — but it is worth knowing that a higher price does not automatically buy a better stone.

Where we sit

Ours is A$249: 3.0mm D-colour VVS1 moissanite, four prongs per stone, box clasp with a figure-eight catch, rhodium-plated 925 sterling silver, stamped. It is plated, not solid, and we say so. Free tracked shipping within Australia and thirty days to change your mind.

If you are comparing us against something cheaper, check the width and the clasp. If you are comparing us against something dearer, check whether you are paying for solid gold — because if you are, that is a real difference and it may be the one you want.