Diamelle Diamonds: Quality, Hardness & Comparison to CZ/Moissanite

Question
I recently purchased a 1 ct diamelle and was curious about your answer to another's question in which you discussed CZ and moissanite simulant diamonds.  You kind of left me hanging with any discussion about diamelle.  Here is what I would like to know.  1) Assuming this is a man-made diamond (correct me if wrong)how does it compare in quality to say a CZ or a real diamond?  A) Is it as hard as a diamond?  2) Is diamelle just an old name for CZ, or is it a very different stone with a different set of properties?  B) If given a choice of a diamelle and a CZ which would you prefer?

Answer
HI LIZ,

THE REASON I DID NOT MENTION DIAMELLE IS BECAUSE IT IS A TRADE NAME. THE ONLY TRADE NAME THAT IS REGISTERED AND COPYRIGHTED IS 'MOISSANITE'. IT IS A DIAMOND SIMULANT THAT IS UNIQUE IN THE TREADE AND ONLY SOLD THROUGH ONE COMPANY, CHARLES & COVARD THE CREATORS. DIAMELLE IS MOST LIKELY CUBIC ZIRCONIUM (CZ). I DON'T KNOW OFF HAND WHO MARKETS DIAMELLE BUT I KNOW THERE IS NO MINERAL OR SYNTHETIC MINERAL BY THAT NAME. IT IS DEFINITELY NOT A SYNTHETIC DIAMOND. SYNTHETIC DIAMOND IS IN FACT DIAMOND WITH ALL THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE NATURAL STONE, AND A COST THAT IS VERY CLOSE TO THE NATURAL STONES. MORE THAN LIKELY IF YOU LOOK THROUGH THE LITERATURE ON DIAMELLE IT WILL HAVE A CHEMICAL FORMULA. CZ IS ZIRCONIUM DIOXIDE ZrO2. MOISSANITE IS SILICON CARBIDE, THERE ARE MANY SIMULANTS AND DIAMELLE COULD BE ANYONE OF THEM EXCEPT SYNTHETIC DIAMOND OR MOISSANITE. THERE ARE DIFFERENT GRADES OF CZ FROM POOR TO TOP QUALITY. THE BEST SIMULANT IS BY FAR MOISSANITE.