If diamonds are a girl’s best friend, cubic zirconia is her secret pal. Cubic zirconia jewelry shows beautifully, just like diamonds, and are a fraction of the price. To most people, they look the same; the cubic zirconia crystal is similar in so many ways to the diamond.
Some women find cubic zirconia wedding ring sets to be their secret weapon in their accessories arsenal. Cubic zirconia is a beautiful alternative to diamonds. The cost is tremendously lower, while the visual appearance is so similar that most untrained eyes (and some trained eyes) can’t tell the difference between the two.
Savvy women should know what the differences are though… it can be tremendously satisfying to buy cubic zirconia jewelry that makes a woman feel beautiful, but shoppers should always know what to look for as differences so they are not duped into paying more for cubic zirconia than they should.
So what are the real differences? There are several key differences between cubic zirconia and diamonds, but most are seen only under a microscope.
The first key difference is the dispersion. Cubic zirconia has a dispersive power greater than the diamond, meaning more of a prismatic “fire”. You’ll notice the lights of the prism far more easily in cubic zirconia than in diamonds.
The second difference is hardness… although this is something that most people wouldn’t notice. Cubic zirconia has an 8.5 to >9.0 hardness on the Mohs scale, while diamonds have a rating of 10.
Cubic zirconia crystals also weigh more than diamonds. Two stones of equivalent size will be very different in weight – the cubic zirconia will typically weigh about 1.7 times more than the diamond!
Believe it or not, the next major difference is that cubic zirconia crystals are more perfect than diamonds. Although it is ironic to think about, diamonds typically have flaws and defects. Most of these defects are feathers, included crystals, or remnants of an original crystal face.
Diamonds also generally have a tint of color… most with a tinge of yellow or brown. Only the rarest diamonds are truly colorless, while cubic zirconia are generally colorless… equivalent to a perfect “D” on the diamond scale!
Most jewelers with the right equipment can easily and quickly tell the difference between a cubic zirconia and a diamond, because cubic zirconia crystals are thermal insulators and diamonds are one of the most efficient thermal conductors. Diamonds actually exceed copper in conductivity!
Because of the beautiful appearance of cubic zirconia, and the similarity to diamonds, the cubic zirconia crystal has become a popular choice for those people wishing to have beautiful jewelry without the price of diamonds.
As long as the purchaser is aware of the differences between cubic zirconia and diamonds, they should always be able to get satisfying deals on stunning jewelry.