What is Cubic Zirconia?
Cubic Zirconia (cz stones) is lab-created substance that visually similar as actual diamonds for its brilliance and clarity. This manmade imitations of diamonds appear as an affordable alternative of diamond, which suitable to those who favor beautiful jewelries that sparks and shines from diamonds, but unable to afford a real diamond. It has been widely used in jewelry making, especially engagement ring, necklaces, bracelets etc. as diamond alternative for its diamond-like quality, low cost and durability.
Not many people could tell the difference between cubic zirconia and diamond through naked eyes. Both are made with clear white color, cut in similar shapes and designs, almost as hard and brilliance as diamond, perfectly mimic as real diamond.
How cubic zirconia is made?
The common cubic zirconia making is by melting the zirconium oxide powder with stabilizers such as magnesium and calcium at 4,982ºF. It is being removed after several hours of heating, resulting in formation of crystals. The crystals are then being cut and polished as end product. The cubic zirconia stones can be transformed into different cuts and shapes that typically found in diamond, as well as being made into different colors.
Cubic Zirconia is being evaluated and graded using the similar grading system as diamonds and other gemstones, which are 4Cs, namely color, clarity, cut and carat weight. However, different manufacturer of cubic zirconia produce different qualities of stone, mainly due to difference in clarity. 5-tiered system of grading is being used to designate the cubic zirconia qualities; from A the lowest grade to AAAAA the highest grade. In Eleganzia Jewelry, all of our cubic zirconia jewelry are adorned with AAA cubic zirconia stones, ensuring lustrous shines from our jewelry piece.
The AAA grade cubic zirconia stones we used are normally appears to be higher polished that A grade stones, as it tends to have more fire and shines as compared to those lower grade. As compared, AAA grade stones come with less fine finishing touch and facets when comparing with highest quality AAAAA grade stones. AAA grade stones are popular in jewelry making for the lower price, immense sparkles and availability.
The differences between cubic zirconia vs diamonds
1. Appearance
Both cubic zirconia and diamond are completely colorless with clear appearance, but you could differentiate them through the flashes of color produced from the stones when lights enter it. The excess light dispersion of cubic zirconia is able to reflect more colorful brilliance with rainbow effect which real diamond is unable to.
Cubic Zirconia has smoother and rounder edges; in contrast with real diamond that has very sharp edges. It is identifiable under a 10x magnification loupe. Cubic zirconia is more likely to be flawless and unable to identify any inclusions such as black spots, lines or other natural imperfections inside; unlike the real diamond. These inclusions usually are seen under a microscope and not naked eyes.
2. Composition
Diamond is made from natural materials; whereas, cubic zirconia is manmade mineral made of zirconium dioxide. The cubic zirconia stones are somewhat similar with diamonds under bare eyes view, which allows normal cubic zirconia rings that look real to fool your bare eyes; but, it could still be differentiated with the identification of different composition in them.
How to tell cubic zirconia from diamond? Cubic zirconia is hard and durable; however, it is appear to be less durable and more brittle than real diamond. In which, cubic zirconia hardness is not as strong as diamonds, more likely to have scratches and damages, causing it to look worn out. Besides, cubic zirconia stones tend to be slight heavier as compared to similar size diamond.
3. Cost
The easiest method to differentiate between cubic zirconia vs diamond is the price. Cubic zirconia price is always significantly cheaper than diamonds, which makes it the most affordable option as inexpensive diamond alternative. The down side is cubic zirconia engagement ring's worth is so low that it has no market value for resell.
The price of the diamond is depending on its 4C’s (Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat) that forms the brilliance sparkles, which makes the diamond would able to retain some of its market value. If flawless diamond is being selected, the price of the jewelry such as engagement rings will be higher.
With that, you might wonder, is cubic zirconia good and worth to obtain?
As a jeweler, cubic zirconia jewelry is a good option for jewelry lovers who love sparkling jewelry with affordable price range. It is suitable with any designs as adornment, as well as to match with different outfits for different occasions. It is more important to shop within your budget range for the piece of jewelry you love and care.
Even if the cubic zirconia stone is cheaper, but it is still important to take well care of it, like how you take care of your other precious jewelry. You may also wondering will cubic zirconia tarnish?
The answer is, depending on the type of metals where your cubic zirconia set on. Although the cubic zirconia is safe to be in contact with water; it is still recommended to remove your cubic zirconia jewelry before you perform any acts that could damage the stone, for example, shower, swimming, doing house chores etc. The elements in the water or chemicals may affect the stone and jewelry setting, eventually damaging the appearance with cloudy surface and scratches.
How to clean cubic zirconia?
For more details on how to care and clean your cubic zirconia jewelry, kindly head over to our article here to get some inspirations on how to prevent your jewelry from tarnishing and damaged.
Important takeaway: Regular cleaning and maintaining your jewelry is important to prolong the jewelry lifespan.
Read now: How To Clean Sterling Silver Jewelry 👇
Now that you have gain the insight on what is cubic zirconia, shop with us now for cubic zirconia sterling silver jewelry! All of our silver jewelry are carefully crafted with AAA cubic zirconia stone, genuine 925 sterling silver that is nickel-free, lead-free and cadmium-free, suitable for people with sensitive skin.
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