A new booklet, published by Charles & Colvard Ltd., the sole manufacturer and distributor of created moissanite jewels, claims that special cut proportions allow moissanite to exhibit "more brilliance, fire, and luster than any other jewels used in the creation of jewelry." The booklet, titled CUT: Its Relevance and Importance As It Pertains to a Jewel's Optical Physics, was written by Earl Hines, vice president of manufacturing for Charles and Colvard, and Kurt Nassau, Ph.D., author, research scientist, and gemstone expert. Although moissanite's hardness of 9.25 on the Mohs scale doesn't match diamond's 10, the authors claim that scientific measurements of luster, dispersion, and brilliance prove that moissanite (a.k.a. silicon carbide) outshines diamond. The key is in the cutting, which is designed to take advantage of moissanite's refractive index, which is slightly higher than