You know the old saying, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”  For some this may be true, but what about the “girl” who cannot afford diamonds?  She could consider making cheap cubic jewelry zirconia her best friend. It shines, sparkles, is flawless and can pass for the real thing. As a diamond simulant or substitute cheap cubic jewelry zirconia comes in a variety of shape, sizes, and colors.  Because of its color, durability, inexpensive cost, and likeness to diamonds, cubic zirconia has been the most gemologically and economically significant diamond substitute since 1976.  Just think you could have the beauty and glamour of diamonds without paying a fortune for it.

It shines, sparkles, is flawless, and can pass for the real thing; yet, cheap cubic jewelry zirconia (or expensive) is just not diamonds.  What is cubic zirconia?  It is an extremely rare mineral that has been synthesized and is used as a diamond simulant (substitute).  Synthesized cubic zirconia is hard, flawless, and usually colorless; however, it can be made into a variety of colors. Adding metal oxide dopants into the mixture yields vibrant colors.  For example, cerium produces yellow, orange and red; chromium produces green; neodymium produces purple; erbium produces pink; and titanium produces golden brown.

In 1937 two German mineralogists discovered natural cubic zirconia when B.W. Anderson gave them a piece of metamict zircon. The zircon contained tiny crystals that were the cubic form of zirconium oxide.   The mineralogists did not take their discovery very seriously and did not give it a name the crystals.  In the 1970s, Soviet scientists found a way to grow the crystals in a laboratory.  This discovery set the stage for mass production and marketing of the material.  However, cubic zirconia really gained popularity in the 1980s when Swarovski & Co., an internationally known Australian producer of leaded crystal, began manuafacturing cheap cubic jewelry zirconia for the mass market.

Its color, durability, likeness to diamonds, and low cost make cubic zirconia the most gemologically and economically significant diamond simulant since 1976.  Although high-quality cubic zirconia jewelry costs hundreds even thousands of dollars, cheap cubic zirconia can be purchased for as little as a couple dollars.  Cubic zirconia is so close to diamonds that the untrained and/or naked eye cannot distinguish the two from each other.  Some of the differences are so minute that only by looking through the lens of a microscope can a person make the distinction.  The list that follows provides an idea of the differences between cubic zirconia and diamonds.

  1. Dispersion is the prism of light that is deflected within a finished stone such as a diamond.  Cubic zirconia’s dispersive power is greater than a diamonds (0.060 versus 0.044).
  2. On the Mohs’ hardness scale, cubic zirconia has an 8.5 - 9.0 rating, and diamonds are rated as ten.
  3. Cubic zirconia weighs seven times more than a diamond of similar size and cut.
  4. Most diamonds have a defect, even the most exquisite and expensive; however, cubic zirconia is virtually flawless.

Cubic zirconia jewelry is quite popular. It comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors.  It is made for various occasions; couples can buy cubic zirconia wedding rings.  Some of it is quite beautiful.  As with many other things cheap cubic jewelry zirconia will not look as authentic as high-quality, higher-priced cubic zirconia.

Although it is not diamonds, cheap cubic jewelry zirconia allows people to own jewelry that is pretty and functional.