Charles & Colvard, Moissanite Pioneer, Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

Charles & Colvard Ltd., the North Carolina company that spent three decades building moissanite into a credible alternative to mined diamonds, filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, listing $19.2 million in total assets and $10.5 million in debts. The filing landed in court around March 3, 2026, when Executive Chairman Michael R. Levin submitted his declaration, with law firm Hendren Redwine representing the company.

The bankruptcy carries a particular sting for an industry pioneer. Charles & Colvard, founded in 1995 and based in Research Triangle Park, was the original creator of lab-grown moissanite, a silicon carbide gemstone it commercialized under the Forever One brand. The company also markets Caydia, its lab-grown diamond line. Both brands built their reputations on ethical sourcing promises: exclusively above-ground gemstones marketed under the "Made, not Mined" trademark, set in 100% recycled precious metals. That positioning was supposed to be the future of fine jewelry. The problem, as Levin described it in his court declaration, is that the future arrived faster than the company could manage.

"The market has seen a steep increase in consumer demand for lab-grown diamonds and gemstones," Levin wrote. "However, increasing saturation in the market of companies producing lab-grown diamonds and gemstones continues to drive down the value of these gems. Our company has seen increasing competition in e-commerce for consumer fine jewelry (Blue Nile, Brilliant Earth, others)."

The squeeze came from both directions. As lab-grown gem prices collapsed under competitive pressure, the cost of the precious metals Charles & Colvard uses for settings climbed sharply. "In recent years, there has been a dramatic decline in prices for moissanite and lab-grown diamond gemstones, relative to our investment in moissanite inventory," Levin wrote. "This has been coupled with a significant increase in prices for precious metals, which we use in settings for finished jewelry." Levin also cited "inflation, economic headwinds, and an evolving competitive landscape" as broader industry pressures compounding the company's difficulties.

The bankruptcy filing did not emerge in isolation. In 2025, Charles & Colvard was delisted from Nasdaq, stripping it of a key fundraising and visibility platform. The company also navigated a proxy battle with activist investor Riverstyx Fund, with which Levin himself had been affiliated, and sustained legal disputes with lender Ethara Capital and primary moissanite supplier Wolfspeed. Wolfspeed's own financial instability added another layer of uncertainty: the supplier entered and exited its own Chapter 11 proceeding last year.

In its public statement, the company was careful to separate restructuring from shutdown. "Charles & Colvard has a unique brand and product line, supported by superb employees and suppliers," Levin said. "After thoroughly evaluating our alternatives and considering recent events and the market pressures facing our industry, the Company's Board of Directors decided that a court-supervised process is the best path forward to make the changes needed to ensure Charles & Colvard's long-term success." The company stated that online sales at charlesandcolvard.com would continue without interruption and that it would file customary first-day motions to maintain normal operations during the restructuring.

Whether Chapter 11 buys enough runway for a genuine turnaround remains the central question. Charles & Colvard bet early and correctly that consumers would embrace lab-grown stones. That bet attracted a wave of better-capitalized competitors who have since commoditized the very category the company helped create.