Charles and Colvard

Charles & Colvard, Ltd., a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: CTHR) is the creator and manufacturer of gem-quality, lab-grown moissanite. Moissanite, also known as silicon carbide, a crystalline compound with the chemical formula SiC. In 1905, this form of silicon carbide was given the name moissanite in honor of its discoverer, Nobel Prize-winning chemist Dr. Henri Moissan. The tiny particles he unearthed at the site of a massive meteorite strike in Arizona were initially mistaken for diamond due to their hardness and brilliant reflectiveness but, after intense testing, were identified as naturally occurring silicon carbide.

Charles & Colvard, formerly known as C3 Inc., received patents in March and June, 1998 for the manufacture of synthetic silicon carbide gemstones (U.S. patent numbers US5723391 and US5762896), and became the first company in the world to cut and market gemstones made from lab-grown SiC. These patents expired in the U.S. in 2015 but remain in effect for one more year in Europe and Asia and until 2021 in Mexico.

The successful manufacture of silicon carbide crystals is a by-product of work by Cree, Inc. (formerly Cree Research, Inc.), a pioneer in the use of silicon carbide in electronic applications such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and in semiconductor electronic devices that operate at high temperatures or high voltages or both.

In the late 1980s, after Cree Inc. isolated the process to grow pure SiC crystals in a lab, Cree Inc. co-founder C. Eric Hunter recognized the consumer potential for this crystal as a gemstone and established a new and separate company under the name C3, Inc. C3 was run by his brother Jeff Hunter until 2000, during which time the company changed its name to Charles & Colvard, Ltd. The company maintains an exclusive agreement with Cree Inc. as its sole supplier of high-grade silicon carbide materials.

Charles & Colvard was launched with just one grade of moissanite, now known as Forever Classic™ Moissanite. Meanwhile, as consumer demand for gemstones changed over time, Cree continued to refine the manufacturing process they had pioneered, developing increasingly whiter and brighter silicon carbide materials for use by Charles & Colvard. In 2012, Charles & Colvard introduced Forever Brilliant®, a near-colorless gem. That was followed in 2015 with the release of Forever One™, the first colorless Moissanite, which is rated at D-E-F on the Gemological Institute of America color scale.

Charles & Colvard now markets an extensive line of fine jewelry through national retailers such as Boscov’s, and globally through wholesalers.

Charles & Colvard is based in the Piedmont area of North Carolina in Research Triangle Park (RTP). Charles & Colvard employs 70+ people full-time, generating revenue that totaled $30.8 million during the year ending December 31, 2015.